Shadow of a Soldier
by Silver Dragon 2488
Summary: An indepth retelling of Caim and Angelus' story, based on the first ending, so no giant, flying, maneating, evil demon babies. Starts from the first mission. I'm trying to keep it as accurate as possible and to fill in the game's plot holes. UPDATE!
1. Meeting

Hello! I am so sad about there only being 14 fics devoted to Drakengard, possibly one of the best -and most insane- games ever made. It makes me cry inside. So, in order to try and help remedy that and to get my Caim fix, I will write fan fiction. Hooray.

Disclaimer for all eternity: I own nothing because Square Enix owns all of this. Though it would make me so happy that I could die to own this wonderful game, alas, I do not. So stop rubbing it in my face.

_**Shadow of a Soldier**_

_**Chapter One**_

_**Meeting**_

Caim was a little more than dismayed as he surveyed his troops for the upcoming battle with the Empire. His scouts had just reported the Empire troops coming into his territory, and were a few hundred yards from the bridge. The scouts had said the enemy numbered to about 3000. Caim had a meager 500 footsoldiers or so to fend them from his castle, and more importantly, his sister, Furiae.

His sword nestled comfortably in his palm, he paced before the front line of his troops. Though they were all well-trained and full of fighting spirit, the fact that they were ridiculously outnumbered did not help the situation, especially since most of said soldiers were now scared out of their wits. They didn't have the cold thirst for revenge like he had. Caim sighed and turned away from his troops out towards the battlefield. There was no going back now. He could hear the enemy's snares in the distance, as if mocking him.

He turned back to the faces of his troops and raised his sword in the air. "This is our homeland," he began steadily. "The Empire is here to throw it into chaos. We must never surrender it to them at any cost! Never! We have to keep the goddess safe, along with everyone else who rises up against the Empire! They have killed countless numbers of people in their wrath! We must stop them here!" He then pointed with his sword towards the now visible enemy line. "Now go! Kill them all!"

His troops resounded with a deafening cry, and then charged past him towards the Empire, their fear transformed into rage and confidence. After the last line of his Union troops had ran for the battle, Caim took a lingering glance at the third story window where his sister was waiting. His face set, he charged with his fellow comrades into the bloody miasma of war.

……………….

_"Damn humans!" _Angelus shouted as she tried to avoid the cannon balls and arrows. _"I'll burn you all to ash!"_

The crimson dragon let loose fireball after fireball into the blimp-like ships that were shooting at her. She had been caught up in a war of human against human by mistake and she wanted no part of it. But for some insipid reason or another, the humans had suddenly focused their aerial missiles at her. Her scarlet wings were being punctured with arrow after arrow, and though she was a strong dragon, her fragile wings couldn't take much more of it. She sped to her right, avoiding a cannon ball, and ripped a ship in two with her talons.

She had originally wished to watch the battle between the two forces of human armies because she was bored, and it was a form of entertainment. It only proved how ludicrously inane humans really were, and that afterwards, she could eat the horses' corpses after the battle was over. She growled as another cannon ball grazed her leg. But she had gotten too close…

She flapped against the wind to shoot at another ship that was firing at her. Her fireball destroyed it, but as she took a look around her, the enemy had completely surrounded her. She had no way out.

Pain seared through her wings as chained steel arrows punctured the meat of her arm and dragged her down into the castle bailey below. The scarlet dragon struggled with all of her might, but another chained arrow drove its way into her other wing and destroyed all hopes of escaping. She fell from the dingy gray sky and crashed into the stone under her. Humans wasted no time in securing her to the ground by stretching out her aching wings and tying them to steel posts that surrounded her. She struggled in vain against her bonds as ironclad humans began to poke and prod at her open wounds. Her eyes closed in painful realization.

She was trapped.

………………

Caim plunged his sword into yet another Empire soldier; the steel slipping easily through the weak point in the armor next to the arm. He loved it. He kicked the newly-made corpse to free his blade and searched for his next victim. His dark blue eyes landed on a lanky man rushing towards him with bloodied sword brandished against the muted sun. Caim grinned and ran to meet the Empire soldier and plunged his sword into the man's middle.

The Empire drone glared up at Caim with disdain. "It doesn't matter what your pathetic little Union does today, the Empire will kill you all…"

Caim snarled and was about to reply when a sharp pain through his upper back drew his attention back to the battle. He turned to the soldier and cut through the man's neck as quickly as he could, but the damage was already done. His back now wounded, throbbing and bleeding, Caim staggered a couple of steps backwards. The pain made white spots appear in his vision.

As he was about to return to the battle, his eye caught a disturbing occurrence: the enemy had just set his castle's blue Union flag aflame. His heart quickened and his breath caught in his throat. "Furiae…" he whispered to himself as anxiety welled up in his gut. Had they already captured her? Was she even alive? How far had the Empire drilled into his castle's defenses? Dismissing the struggle between his rapidly diminishing troops and the Empire, he bolted for the castle to save the last remnant of his family.

The closer he got to his castle, the thicker the air was with blood. Corpses of both his men and the Empire's were strewn about the stained ground carelessly. He darted past formation after formation, when an armored hand grabbed his shoulder. Startled, Caim was about to behead the soldier when he saw that it was one of his own. The boy -for he was only eighteen- was shaking uncontrollably. "The Empire is too strong…" the boy stuttered as his lower jaw quivered in trepidation. "We'll never make it out alive…"

Caim pushed the boy's hand off of him with irritation. He figured the younger ones would have trouble with the blood and gore of battle, but right now, he didn't have time to play therapist to a scared eighteen year-old. Furiae was in danger. He left the boy behind and raced over the stone bridge after killing a few enemy commanders along the way. In order to break the dense line of enemy troops blocking the bridge, he joined a small pack of his troops, a little group of five, and began to slaughter soldiers with them. "Show no mercy!" he cried out. "Attack!"

As soon as he reached the other side of the river, one of his own came running up to him, out of breath and bloody. "Sire…"

Caim grabbed the messenger's shoulder. "How is Furiae? Have they…"

"Your sister -I mean- the goddess, Furiae, is in the castle. Lord Inuart is with her…" The soldier swallowed deeply and saluted. Caim didn't return it; he had to get to the castle. _Inuart…_ Furiae may be safe with Inuart for a little while, but his old friend wasn't as battle-worn or experienced as he was. Inuart would be killed if Caim didn't hurry.

There were soon only two large, heavily armored soldiers blocking Caim's way before the main gate. He readied his sword and thrust it into the giant's belly, but the man's giant arm swung his ax straight into Caim's side. The Union general was cast fifteen feet away, and landed heavily on his already wounded back. For a quick moment, his vision failed him. However, he rolled and hopped back onto his feet just in time to block a would-be devastating blow to the head.

"Empire rats!" Caim hissed. "You shall feed the ravens!" With a parry and a swipe to the side, the giant was beheaded. Caim looked to the other, and, with rage and fury aiding him, summoned fireballs from the magic within his sword. They bombarded the human tank and roasted him within his armor.

Panting, he crouched down on the ground to give himself a little rest. A comrade knelt down beside him and said shakily, "Sir, the Empire soldiers have caught a dragon in the castle bailey…"

Caim glanced at the soldier. A dragon? "Is it dead?"

"We don't really know…" the soldier replied slowly.

Caim gritted his teeth. Yet another reason to hurry into the castle. To be able to kill something of the same race that murdered his parents would better his mood. _Still…_ Using his sword like a crutch temporarily, he stood and headed for the bailey to rescue his sister and to kill a dragon.

……………

He dashed into the bailey, out of breath and strength. However, when his deep blue eyes landed on the sight of the shackled and fettered crimson dragon before him, hate and disdain swelled up within him. Around the dragon, the blood-written words "Resisters shall land in Hell" surrounded the beast in a semi-circle. Shackles chained the dragon down to the ground; its head lolled to one side. It looked dead. Taking in a shaky breath, he whispered to himself, "A dragon…"

As he made his way towards the dragon, painful step after painful step, flashes of that horrible night from his and his sister's childhood bombarded his internal eye. In uncontrollable rage, he bared his teeth and snarled. His mother… his father… their blood everywhere and stained onto the dragon's black scales… it was all because of that damn dragon! He raised his sword to stab the wretched beast in the brain when a voice began to whisper in his head.

_"Kill me if you desire…"_ the dragon stated softly as she lifted her bloodied head. _"…but you can never dirty my soul, wretched human."_

Her voice had caught Caim off guard, but his sword was still in the air, ready to plunge. Then, an idea struck Caim: something that would make him strong enough to destroy the rats that invaded his kingdom. A part of him dismissed the idea as insanity, or a possible result of major blood loss, but it was all he had. He would surely die if he tried to secure the castle in his present state…

"Tell me, do you still want to live, dragon?" he found himself asking.

_"What?"_ the dragon asked, completely taken off guard by his question.

"A pact!" Caim cried. "There's no other way!"

The scarlet dragon began to let her head fall back to the stone. She had thought it hard to believe a human was simply going to let her go. _"Hmph,"_ she scoffed. As if she was going to be bound to a filthy, incompetent human with an unnatural amount of bloodlust for the rest of her life. _"What makes you worthy of a pact with me?"_

"Worthy or not, I wish to live…" Caim replied with a strained voice. His vision was starting to go again. He had to make this quick! He caught a swift loss of balance with a small step and continued, "Despise me if you will, but I shall not die! Your answer! A pact… or death!"

The dragon scoffed again and turned her head as far as she could behind her. _It seems we have company. I shall consider a pact… if you survive the swarm of humans coming for you…"_

Alarmed, Caim looked towards the entrance of the castle where, as the dragon had said, were Empire jackals flooding out of the entryway. Caim gritted his teeth in frustration and rushed out to meet them. "You interrupt us!" he cried as he slew five people with one fell swipe. "Go back to hell, hyenas!"

Time blurred as he killed man after man with the Empire's crest branded on their chests. His movements became sluggish and his mind fuzzy. He had to kill these mongrels soon… "Come!" he panted as he saw two leviathans come into view. "Taste the steel of my sword!" He drove his blade into one's head and killed the other with a blow to the waist.

As the two bodies crumpled to the ground, the dragon's voice wormed into his head. _"Still alive? You are blessed with the devil's luck… A pact with you…"_

Caim turned back to the dragon, his mind finally coming to grasp with what he asked of the scarlet creature. _A pact?_ his mind's voice asked in fear. _With that which killed my parents?_

Angelus let her hate and fury for the man radiate from her, so that even he, with his limited telepathical abilities, could know how she felt about him. Though she did like the fact that he had just killed all of the pitiful humans that had shackled her like a caged bird to the ground, he was still asking her for her dignity, something that all dragons cherished. She despised what he was: a mindless, murdering drone that killed his own brethren over inane material items and intangible concepts. What a waste. _"You kill for the mere sake of killing. Like all of your race…"_

Caim gripped his sword, making his leather gloves groan. He hated the fact that he would have to surrender life to the damn beast, but… what else was there to do? _I have to do this! _his mind cried. _To save Furiae… and myself… I have to do this! I have to live!_ His mind set, he staggered towards the red dragon again, whilst using his bloodied sword like a steel, bladed crutch. His breath came in heavy pants, and his back and heart throbbed against his head.

After catching his breath for a bit, he stared into the amber eyes of the dragon. "Now…" he began in between pants, "…your answer…"

The dragon lifted her head thoughtfully. She couldn't believe what she was going to do… A proud and dignified dragon such as herself defiling her name and species by forming a pact with a human such as this? But… what else was there to do…? _"A pact… or death…? We… are united by our need to live…" _

Caim half-snarled. He didn't want to hear her dribble; he wanted a damn answer! "Well?"

The dragon, though resentful of his impunity, complied. _"Yes… A pact…"_

Caim had heard how to form a pact… Extracting a soul and then joining the two souls of both man and beast together… He wasn't sure how to extract his own soul, but he could sure as hell try…He put his hand to his nicked and bloodied chest plate and summoned his soul. He saw a light, and then, excruciating pain flooded through him. Yet, he kept pulling his soul out, and through his own screams, he could hear the dragon moaning in pain as well.

After what seemed an eternity, the pain relented and faded away. He could now see the strange ball of light in his hand, and saw something akin to his in the dragon's mouth. Caim, with an unsteady arm, held out his soul and touched it with the dragon's. Suddenly, he felt light and free; his wounds didn't hurt at all. He opened his eyes and saw even the bloodstains on his armor washed away with the formation of the pact, and looked to the dragon, who freed herself of her chains with renewed vigor.

The dragon took in a deep breath of relief or dismay -Caim couldn't tell- and looked to the Union general. _"Well?"_ the dragon asked. _"Aren't you going to get on? We must kill the insects that swarm the skies."_

Caim was surprised by her willingness to participate in the war, especially since it really didn't concern her at all, but he mounted her nonetheless. With a few moments of uneasy shifting on her shoulders, Caim situated himself comfortably on the leathery scales of the dragon. The dragon seemed amused by his restlessness on her shoulders. _I wonder how he'll take to flying… _she wondered to herself, bemused.

With a mighty heave of her crimson wings, she hurled herself into the sky mottled with leagues of enemy ships. She didn't expect that she would have a passenger, but maybe he would fall off and lighten her load. Her dragon lips quirked at the thought. What a sight that would be…

She shook her head to clear her mind of such thoughts. Whether she liked it or not, the man on her shoulders was now her pact-partner, and should he die, she would as well. _How unfortunate._ She glanced behind her the glimpse the human -who was staring at the ever-fading ground wide-eyed- and glared. What would this human, who was obviously bent on revenge, put her through? What would he pit her against? She let out a draconian sigh and pushed onward. Now was not the time to think of the future; now was the time to incinerate the bastards that pinned her down like a damn dog!

…………………

Soo… whatcha think? I think it could have been better… but oh wells.

I wish there were more Drakengard fanfics… I really do… More ways for me to get my Caim fix.

Please review!

Ja!


	2. A Goddess Saved

Me hates typos. I am spreading the joy of Drakengard to my fellow classmates. I have hooked… let's see… six people one the game. Woo! I feel like a nun going around trying to convert people… except with a game…

_**Shadow of a Soldier**_

_**Chapter Two**_

_**A Goddess Saved**_

Angelus rejoiced at the feeling of air underneath her wings again; a dragon was not meant for being stuck on the blasted ground. Though her flight was different than all of her other ones because of her new pact-partner, a bloodthirsty warrior that had somehow convinced her into a pact. She looked back to the human, who tried to maintain a dignified position on her back, but occasionally had to grab the base of her neck for balance. The sight of the clumsy human made her chuckle; humans were simply not made for the sky.

She turned back to the now visible enemies rising into the sky and built up a fireball. Now was a perfect opportunity to pay the bastards back for their deed earlier. _"Hold onto my neck tightly!" _she warned to the human as she sped towards the foe. _"I would not want to waste time picking you up if you fell!" _She felt two human hands come back to their spot on the base of her neck and she released the fireball straight into the cockpit of a ship. Then, the myriad of cannon balls flew towards her. She grinned and rushed out to meet them.

Caim, on the other hand, was not so eager to go into this battle. He had never been in the sky, except once, but it was never on the back of a dragon, much less a dragon about to dog fight a platoon of flying ships… Though he felt the sting in his pride, he crouched down low to the dragon's warm, leathery scarlet neck. He would be able to ride better once he got used to the dragon's movements, but not now, when the dragon was twisting and turning everywhere.

He tried to see what was going on, but the rushing air hurt his eyes, forcing him to go back down in his former position. _Damn!_ he cursed angrily in his head, _I can't see a bloody thing!_

_"Perhaps I should narrate the scene for you?" _the dragon's impish voice chimed. _"Since your frail human eyes are not adapted for the winds."_

Caim let the insult roll off of him; he was more interested in the fact that she had heard his thoughts. That was a bit disturbing. _You can hear me?_

_"No, I was simply talking to myself."_

A snarl formed on Caim's face. Of all the damn dragons he had to make a pact with, he got the smart-ass. _Bloody dragon…_

Angelus let a half-grin seep into her draconian features as she decided to suddenly give in to the urge to perform three aerial loops consecutively. But it wasn't to get back at the human's retort, oh no; it was to avoid enemy missiles. When she leveled out and destroyed a few more pathetic human ships, she felt a small thud on her leather skin: the human had punched her.

_Don't do that!_ his voice roared irritably in her head. She let a small chuckle escape her throat. Playing with this human was far more entertaining than watching any battle. With a final bout of fireballs, the sky was clear of air ships and other frail human structures that tried to fly. She gave a proud snort and circled the castle. However, her victory was short-lived. A canon ball flew from above her down onto her rump, earning a cry of pain and surprise from the dragon and her pact-partner.

_"Filthy jackals!"_ she cried in rage. _"Come and taste my fire!"_ She flew upwards to the sky bastion, where a new throng of arrows and cannon balls threatened to bring her out of the sky. How dare an asinine group of simple humans try to take her out of the very place she ruled? She roared with fury and flew into the ship, ripping apart the canons and propellers with her talons. Though cannon ball after cannon ball skimmed dangerously past her wings and face, she paid no heed. These meddlesome humans had to go.

Caim, though a little relieved the dragon was willingly destroying their mutual enemy, looked back down to the distant battlefield below, where his minuscule army was slowly retreating from their stronghold. He hissed a sharp breath; he had to get back down there! _Dragon,_ he commanded, _we have to get back to the castle and assist my men! They're losing!_

After a moment of dismantling the engine by fire, (and thus causing the bastion to begin to crash to the ground in flames) Angelus scoffed. _"The castle will fall, no matter what you or I do. All your human castles are built on sand; it is the castle's inevitable fate to crumble."_

The Union general snarled. He didn't have time for this! Furiae was in danger, and he knew that Inuart could only hold off Imperial troops for so long… He punched the dragon's crimson hide in frustration. _Take me down!_

The dragon hovered in the air for a moment, and then after a second of hesitation, began to head for the castle. She didn't like having to concede, especially to a bloody human, but if she didn't, he would probably do something stupid and life-threatening if she didn't land. She dove towards the bloodstained ground with the thought that she could get him back later.

Caim, now feeling a little better since the dragon wasn't trying to throw him off or make him airsick, searched his castle exterior and the well being of his troops. His morale sank as he saw the battlefield overrun with the enemy, and his army was scattered and few. _We need to aid them; the Imperial troops are probably already inside the castle._

Angelus blew a couple of fireballs at a few irksome archers that were trying to bring her down with a sparse number of pointed sticks they were shooting at her. They bounced off her tough hide uselessly, though they did get a little annoying after a while. She flew down into the castle bailey, which was deserted except for a few of the human's underlings. They all gazed in awe at her and her crimson wings, and when she settled onto the stone floor -which was still painted with her blood from earlier- they backed away slowly.

"Lord Caim…" one began slowly, "You… You are… riding a dragon?"

The human jumped off of her shoulders and landed awkwardly onto the stone courtyard. For a small moment, his balance was off, but he caught himself before it was too noticeable. Angelus began snickering in his ear; he looked ridiculous. His armor had been shifted, his hair was windblown, and his face was a bit paler than before. The human turned over his shoulder to give her a dirty look, then turned back to his men.

"Sire, when did you… I mean…" the first man began to question as he looked her over a couple of times. "… You… hate dragons…"

Caim sighed and let weariness take hold. He figured his men wouldn't take to the dragon very well, especially since most of them were former servants to his father, and hated dragons almost as much as he did. Almost. He looked back up to the private and began to reply, but for some reason, his voice didn't work. For a small, clumsy moment, his mouth floundered like a fish out of water. He noticed the soldier's face grow with concern, and felt he needed to end the conversation quickly.

"Is something wrong?" another soldier asked as he came towards him.

Caim shook his head and walked past them, heading for the castle's small fountain and then, the castle itself. The soldiers shrugged and the first said uncertainly, "We… shall go back out into the battlefield if you're going inside the castle, Sire." Caim nodded impatiently and the soldiers rushed out while being particularly wary of the dragon.

Angelus turned to her pact-partner with interest. _"So. Your voice is lost. A trifling price to pay for a pact. No matter, I shall speak for the both of us."_ The human didn't really respond to her words, except walk slowly in the direction of a stone archway that led to a small fountain in front of the castle's entryway. _"Into the castle alone?"_ she asked. He didn't give an answer, so she assumed that was a "yes". _"Very well,"_ she added, _"I shall await you here."_

The human stuck out his sword towards her defiantly, and mumbled softly, _These damn vermin will not overrun my castle. I have to protect it._

Angelus found his determination and passion for protecting his fortress amusing; he truly was bull-headed in the matter. Though it probably meant his -and vicariously, her own- demise, again, she would have no choice in the matter. She figured he would rush in anyway with or without her blessing. Still… _"I shall know soon enough when you die. My life is now your life."_

Caim lowered his sword and ran to the doorway of his fortress. It didn't matter what the dragon thought; he knew his castle like the back of his hand, and no amount of Imperial scoundrels was going to take it and his sister away from him. Sword drawn, he rushed into the already open archway, ready to fight. Though as he ran, the dragon's words echoed in his ears: _"You cannot live on hatred alone…"_

……………

Caim rushed past a group of newly slain Empire rats, both his sword and his armor already covered in blood. Most of his troops were out of the castle (those who were still breathing, that is). But he didn't mind. He rather liked being able to kill at will without worry of slaughtering an ally in the process. His sword could move freely in a situation like this.

He dashed around a few corners and slowly made his way up to Furiae's room, which was at the very top of the castle. Though he enjoyed killing the bastards who started this damn war, he was still unnerved by the number of them that had infested his castle. How did they all get inside so quickly?

He skewered another group of Imperial vermin subconsciously as he thought of his friend's and sister's reaction to his pact. Would they be surprised? Obviously. Scared? Maybe. Angry? Furiae might… but she wasn't the type to be angry with him; since they were very young, he and Inuart protected her. She wouldn't get mad at him very easily. But what about Inuart? He and Inuart had been friends for a number of years, yes, but also rivals. And though Inuart tried his hardest to be like Caim, he never won in their sparring. Inuart… just wasn't made for battle.

Caim sighed as he ran up the first floor staircase two steps at a time. Inuart would probably be jealous. He always was when Caim accomplished something that was out of his friend's reach, and this would be no different. Especially since Caim now got to fly, but the Union general didn't really care about that. The feelings of freedom and carelessness and the rest of that flowery, poetic shit didn't matter to him, just as long as it allowed him to further his revenge. He stabbed an Empire soldier in the head absent-mindedly. All of that was more of Inuart's thing.

Suddenly, the dragon's voice entered his head. _"Pact-partners can hear each other's voices even at long distances…" _Caim groaned. So the dragon could annoy him even when they were hundreds of feet apart… Wonderful. _"What? Aren't you happy that even though your voice is lost, you can still communicate with at least me?"_ Caim half-snarled at the mental presence in his head.

_Do you really want me to answer that? _His reply was a rough snicker that only a dragon throat could muster.

The Union general raced down a long hallway, occasionally releasing his own magic fire to clear a path in front of him. He was almost to Furiae's room. He cut down more and more countless soldiers as he headed for the last staircase. _"Must you slaughter so many?"_ the dragon asked softly.

_Must you butt in like that?_ he replied irritably. _I didn't ask you to prick my conscience._

_"If there was one to prick in the first place,"_ the dragon answered sagely. Caim, now without a proper retort, let the dragon's statement roll over him. The damn beast was distracting him from his objective. He had to get to Furiae!

…………

Inuart was alarmed at the number of people surrounding and Furiae. He had never been so completely outnumbered… Though he hated to admit it, he really needed Caim beside him; his friend -and would-be brother-in-law- was better suited to battle than he. But Caim was out on the battlefield at that moment, and wouldn't be able to help him. Inuart readied his sword. This was his battle.

"Stop!" he cried as a few soldiers surrounded his love. They turned to him with malice and fury in their red eyes. Inuart flinched. Those eyes looked so… inhuman… possessed… He shook off the thought and readied his sword. He would not let them have Furiae.

The soldiers ignored him and they began to harass Furiae, to which Inuart's heart stuttered. They were going to kill her! "Furiae!"

Then, Inuart heard quick, heavy footsteps approaching, which were soon accompanied with shrieks from a sword clashing and splitting metal, and cries of pain. His heart leapt again, this time with joy. Caim had come! "Caim!" he cried, hoping that his friend could aid him in saving Furiae.

The Union general stormed in, bloody blade drawn and already stuck in another soldier's armor. He killed the three men easily enough, and with the last one, kept on stabbing the body over and over again. Inuart sighed and trotted to his friend's side. "Caim, that's enough." The man looked at Inuart with a bit of impatience in his blue eyes, but Inuart paid no heed. He was used to that look. "He's dead."

Caim frowned and then took his sword out of the body, but kicked the corpse with contempt. No one tried to murder his sister and got away with it. "Full of bloodlust, as always," his friend commented grudgingly. Inuart never really approved of Caim's yearning for revenge. "But you helped me… once again…" he added with a tone of gratitude.

Caim turned to his friend and sister and tried to say what it had been like on the battlefield, and of his new pact, but he had forgotten the price he had paid. His mouth floundered again, and when he realized no sound was to come, he closed it again, embarrassed that he had forgotten such a thing.

Inuart's head cocked; he had never seen his friend act like this. He tried to search Caim's eyes, but the Union general hid them from view by using his long bangs. What was wrong with him? When his friend turned back to him, his mouth opened and closed again, but, as before, no sound. "Caim…" Inuart began with horror, "You cannot speak?"

To his alarm, Caim shook his head and opened his mouth again, this time sticking out his tongue, which had branded on it a strange tattoo; a tattoo so intricate that it could only have been made by a pact. He couldn't believe it. "A pact?" Inuart asked slowly, to which Caim nodded.

Inuart didn't know what to think of it. He figured that Caim might consider a pact… but he thought that his friend valued the functions of his body. He was lucky to get away with everything but his voice intact. There were ways to get around that barrier. Still, Inuart couldn't help but feel a new bout of jealousy for his friend: Caim had accomplished yet another thing that he could not.

After a moment of silence, Inuart began to express an idea he had formed. "The castle is no longer safe," he started slowly. "I … I thought I would take Furiae to the elf village. Since the elves are bound to eternal neutrality, their village would be a safe haven from the empire. While it may be dangerous to take the goddess from the castle, what else is there to do?" Inuart let his feet take him to Furiae's side, where he should be. He loved her so much… "She may be the goddess of the seal, but before that, she was my betrothed. I will protect her." The red-headed man looked to his friend, who seemed to be considering his request. Inuart cursed inwardly; it was hard enough trying to figure out what was going on inside Caim's head before, but now it was damn impossible. Still, he went on. "And what about you, Caim? You once called Furiae your sister."

Caim simply stared back at Inuart. _Well, dragon?_ Caim asked. _Would you be willing to transport us there?_

There was a slight pause before the dragon answered. _"You're asking my opinion? Well, I suppose the elf village would be a safe haven for the goddess… if the Empire hasn't already thought of that and destroyed it."_

Caim's face contorted into a slight frown. _Yes or no would have been sufficient._

A small grumble sounded; Caim didn't know whether it was a chuckle or growl. _"Very well, I shall take you. Come outside so that I may meet my new passengers."_

Caim turned back to his friend, who surveyed the room with a small smile. He turned to his surroundings and said happily, "Perhaps we should celebrate." He pulled up a chair, sat down, and retrieved his harp from beside his foot on the floor. He held out a hand to Furiae and asked playfully, "The usual song?"

Furiae closed her eyes blissfully as Inuart's fingers lovingly strummed the tiny harp, and Caim couldn't help but let a smile of his own grace his face. Inuart really knew how to cheer his sister up, and that was enough to smile about for him. As Inuart began singing, Caim stepped closer to his younger sister and placed a hand on her waist. This was what he was fighting for.

……………

Yay… that half sucked… Oh well!

I think my PS2 got angry at me for doing the same two event/ movies things over and over again so I could get the text… Oh well. It was worth it.

Please review!

Ja!


	3. Celebration

Yay! You guys like it! I feel so loved…

I just found out what the fifth ending is… My God, could you get more random? I mean… I thought they were pushing it with the giant, flying evil demon babies… but this… I don't know if I want to even unlock it…

Wait, what am I talking about? Of course I do. I can get my Caim fix that way. Oh, another way to prove my gooberness, I figured out the musical notes of Drakengard's theme, "Growing Wings" I think it's called. It makes me happy. I can play it on the piano whenever I want…

_**Shadow of a Soldier**_

_**Chapter Three**_

_**Celebration**_

"A…. A dragon!" Inuart cried as they stepped out of the small courtyard into the bailey. The dragon seemed to inflate her chest with pride as his friend and sister gawked over her scarlet form. Caim, who happened to be behind the two, frowned over the dragon's narcissistic posture. Inuart turned abruptly to face Caim. "You made a pact with a dragon?"

Caim could do naught else but shrug nonchalantly, and he walked past the still open-mouthed Inuart to his sister, who seemed to be in shock as well. She looked up at him, frightened. He sighed. He figured she would be scared…

_"I assume you are the goddess?"_ the dragon asked politely. Furiae started at the dragon's voice, but she calmed after a bit.

"Yes…" she answered softly. "I am… It is an honor to meet you." She curtsied and looked up tentatively back to the dragon's amber eyes. Caim smiled proudly down at his sister.

Angelus didn't really know what to think of the human's companions. The red-headed male wouldn't stop staring at her, and that in itself was a bit annoying, but the female, which smelled like her pact human, was quiet, dignified (or at least as dignified as a human could become). She liked that. She assumed the woman wouldn't be bothering her, but the male would. _"Who are these people?"_ she asked privately of her pact human.

He turned to her and nodded to the woman. _This, obviously, is the goddess, Furiae, and was once my sister and Inuart's fiancée. Inuart is the man that won't stop staring at you. He is a friend of mine, and has been ever since childhood._ The dragon snorted and turned back to the red-headed man, Inuart. There was something about him she didn't like. Something… just… wrong…

"Well," Inuart began shakily, "the castle seems secure. But we should still leave as soon as possible…"

Angelus stirred on her hind legs and wings. _"Yes… but the enemy is about four days away from here. I can barely smell them. We can stay here for the night and then move out tomorrow. You had better pack provisions for the three of you; I will not stop on the flight except for sleep."_ Again, the Inuart human seemed surprised and scared at her voice, but he quickly got over it when Furiae began to move to go back into the castle. The two left, thus leaving her and the human alone.

_"Perhaps you should go wash the blood off of your armor and sword before the day is through,"_ she supplied. Her looked up at her and frowned halfway, then began to follow his companions back to the castle.

_Oh…_ the human began airily, _my men will want to have a celebration considering we won today. They'll be holding it out here. I doubt you would want to stay in the company of about 300 drunken men, so if you wish, there's an open-air hallway at the top of the castle if you desire to stay in it for the duration of the event._

Angelus growled. Alcohol and humans only created one thing: disaster. Though she didn't particularly find it approving for her to heed a human's advice, she also didn't want to be caught up in an inebriated human festivity. The men would probably try to ride her. How revolting. However, she might have to stay present if her pact-partner was going to risk killing himself with alcohol poisoning. Humans were so fragile… _"Will you be taking part in the festivities?"_

He stopped halfway under the arch to turn back to her. _If you mean being present, yes. But I won't be drinking. I must make sure none of my men hurts themselves while in a drunken stupor._

The dragon snorted her amusement. So they were both going to play guardian some way or another. _"Very well. I will go out and hunt for the time being."_ She opened her wings and gave a mighty heave off of the ground, which launched her into the sky. Caim watched her as she disappeared into the darkening heavens before he turned back to his now quiet castle.

……………

Inuart roamed the hallways without much purpose; Caim's men were getting ready for their celebration dinner, Caim himself had disappeared somewhere in the castle, and Furiae was in her quarters, sleeping. He didn't want to disturb her, since sleeping was the only way for her to escape the weight of the Seal, if only temporarily. He sighed and turned a corner without realizing it. He hated being such a liability to Caim and Furiae… He wanted to be able to protect Furiae, even if he could not wed her, but that was proving to be difficult as of late.

Then, his ear caught a noise: the scraping of rock on metal. Someone was sharpening their blade. He followed the sound to a secluded, open courtyard that Inuart had never seen before, and saw Caim, his back to Inuart, sitting on a stone bench overlooking the foliage of the courtyard. Caim had his armor off, revealing a simple black shirt and a clean pair of pants. His armor was strewn carelessly about him, and he seemed to be greatly involved in what he was doing. At the sound of Inuart's soft footsteps, he turned to see who it was, nodded at Inuart, then returned to his blade and whetstone.

"I doubt you really need to sharpen your blade further, Caim," Inuart began politely as he approached his friend from behind. "It seems to cut through steel well enough without the extra attention." He reached Caim's side and bent down a little to catch a view of his friend's eyes, but again, Caim's dark bangs were in the way. Inuart frowned. Knowing Caim, he probably kept his bangs long on purpose for that reason in particular.

Caim held the sword up in the light to inspect it, gave a dissatisfied glance at the blade, and then went back to sharpening. Inuart sat down beside the general and sighed. "How unfortunate you lost your voice… Though you rarely spoke anyway, I guess it's not that large of a loss…" He glanced over to Caim, who had let a smirk escape his poker face. Inuart smiled. It seemed his friend had not been completely lost to the horrors of blood and war.

Inuart clapped Caim hard on the back, which made the whetstone fly out of the dark-haired man's hand, earning a stern look from said general. Inuart couldn't help but laugh. "Congratulations on your victory today, Caim, the Union couldn't have won without you. I'm sure many toasts will be made in your honor tonight."

Caim rolled his eyes wearily, which was the reaction Inuart expected, and stood up to retrieve his whetstone, which had landed in a small fish pond. Inuart smiled as his friend picked up the white stone and then sat back down, continuing his task. Inuart glanced over Caim's armor, which was now cleaned, and picked up the chest plate absently. The armor, though free of blood, had gashes and cuts everywhere. It was almost as battle-worn as the wearer.

"So Caim," Inuart began again, "what caused you to make a pact, with a dragon of all creatures?"

Caim simply shrugged and Inuart's face fell into a cynical scowl. "If I didn't know better, I'd think that the pact-price of your voice was a blessing to you. Come now, tell me. Why did you do it?"

Caim stopped his sharpening and gave Inuart a stale stare. Inuart got his meaning and said, "Yes, I know you can't talk. Write it out in the dirt."

A sigh, and then the general reached for a nearby twig. Caim inspected it, found it sturdy enough to be written with, and then wrote out in the dirt, "had to".

Inuart was the one to sigh in annoyance now. "Yes, I realize you had to, but what for? What caused you to make you form a pact with the dragon?"

Caim glanced at Inuart in irritation again and erased his earlier statement with his foot. Instead of answering Inuart's question, he wrote, "stop being so nosy".

The red-headed man pushed Caim on the shoulder with a chuckle. "And you stop being so secretive and stubborn! Tell me what happened!"

Caim erased the dirt again and replied, "you sound like a gossiping woman when you talk like that".

Inuart playfully punched Caim in the arm. "You're useless," he stated simply as he stood up to leave. Caim threw the stick into the pond and went back to sharpening his blade. Inuart shook his head slowly at his friend's predictability and returned to the interior of the castle to help prepare for the upcoming merriment later that evening.

……………

"Are you… Are you listen- are you liste-listening to me? Because I need to tell you…" a very inebriated soldier named Larry mumbled into Caim's ear. "That I… RESHPECT you!" Larry pounded his fist on the wooden table, thus causing a nearby cup of wine to teeter and fall over, spilling its contents. Larry pointed at it and laughed.

Caim sighed heavily and tried to smile. Maybe if he played along, Larry would walk away… It was hard to keep a level and sane head when everyone around you was hopelessly drunk. Larry finally stood up and tottered over to another group of slobbering morons that were singing -or something akin to it- a random song. The general took a sip of his red wine and rubbed his temples slowly. This was going to be a long night…

_"It seems your men are rather exuberant tonight,"_ the dragon mused from above. Caim lifted his head and searched for her, stopping when he saw a shadowed vermilion silhouette settled directly above him, perched on the wall.

_That's because they've all consumed more whiskey and liquor than I care to acknowledge,_ Caim replied stoically as he returned his gaze back to his hands. The cup of wine he was holding was still his first, and he intended to keep it that way. He took another small sip and ate a modest bite of bread from the table -one of thirty-seven- that had been set up in the bailey.

It truly was a grand feast; one of such abundance, he hadn't seen its equal since his father's days. Cooked wild boars and other animals decorated the tables (now most with pieces missing from them) along with breads, fruits and other foods. Though, when the brandy and whiskey was handed out, the food was ignored and the men went to sing and dance in the small open space in front of the tables. Inuart was playing near there with his harp, along with some other musicians, to keep a jolly background noise steady through the night.

Some soldiers surrounded Caim again, begging him to dance and sing with them. He declined, (rather quickly, actually) and they left, not seeming too upset with his rejection. The dragon seemed amused by this.

_"What, not going to join?"_ she asked in almost a mocking tone. Caim turned his head and glared up at her.

_Would you? I am not going to make a fool of myself here. _

The dragon snorted and replied, _"There may be hope for you yet, human."_

Caim glowered at the dragon before returning to his piece of bread. There wasn't much to do around a group of drunks besides sit in the corner. Perhaps he could go check on Furiae or go and read. But then again, she might be asleep and his books were probably ruined with bloodstains or looted. Sharpening his blade was out of the question, since he accidentally sliced his finger while sheathing it earlier. His armor was already clean… he sighed again. There was nothing to do…

_"Bored already?"_ the dragon asked as she repositioned herself on the stone wall above him. _"I have an idea."_

Caim hesitated for a moment, then replied, _It's probably better than anything I have… Go ahead._

_"If you and I are to fight in the air properly, you must have practice riding me. We should do that now." _Caim turned back to the dark silhouette of the dragon above him. _"It would be better than listening to your men make complete fools of themselves."_

Though Caim would rather not admit it, the dragon was right. But did he really want to go flying? His last experience wasn't that desirable. _Maybe later…_ he replied as he swirled his cup of wine. He heard the dragon scoff and then a swish of wings flying over him. Suddenly, he saw her circle and fly right for him, lethal talons out in front of her.

_"It wasn't a suggestion," _she replied firmly as she plucked him out of his seat by means of her claws grabbing his un-armored torso. The crowd below him cheered his name as they flew higher and higher into the dusk sky. Since he was dangling by her claws, the only thing he could grab onto was a talon or toe. His feet couldn't hold onto anything, so they hung uselessly under him. His heart pounded in his chest as he glanced down below him, where trees and rivers seemed just dots and lines to his eyes. He glared up at the dragon, who he could tell was quite proud of herself now.

_If you don't mind, _Caim grated out in his head, _this isn't the most ideal position for me to be in when in the air with you._

The dragon dipped her head to look at him; her glowing amber eyes were small beacons of light in the darkness. _"Oh, do forgive me," _she replied curtly, and then promptly let him go.

He began to fall through the sky headfirst, mouth open in a silent scream. He was hundreds of feet in the air -and now that number was rapidly dropping- with nothing to help him. His arms and legs flailed instinctively to grab onto something -anything- to keep him from dropping. Suddenly a flash of red appeared under him, and he landed on his back hard on the dragon.

It was then that he realized his heart was pounding a mile a minute, his breath was in his throat, and his hands were shaking. Yet despite being half-scared out of his mind, he glared to the side of his vision at the dragon below him and punched her leathery hide. _Damn you!_

He repositioned himself on her back, riding her much the same way as he did before. She scoffed. He was trying to ride her like a damn flying horse. She shook her neck, which almost made him fall off, and said, _"Stop trying to ride me like a stallion. I assure you, I will not behave like one."_

He managed to climb back on without her having to help him and when he was settled, asked sarcastically, _So how should I ride you? If you couldn't tell, I've never had to ride a dragon before._

Angelus snorted. _"Figure it out on your own, human. I've never had to instruct a human on how to ride me, either, so how would I know? Now, I am going to perform various maneuvers, and you will just have to figure out how to sit through them all."_ She could feel his annoyance emanating from him, but she didn't care. If he was going to ride her into battle, he better know how.

She began with various dips and dives; all of which she felt him stay comfortably on. But when she pulled out of a dive and performed a loop, his weight shifted incorrectly, and he fell off.

She dove after him and plucked him out of the air again. She had told him to hold on… She ignored his curses and kept the maneuvers up so that he could get used to them. After about an hour and a half of this, she finally felt him where he needed to be on every move she could possibly make in the air. She sighed in relief. _"Very good, human, I'm surprised that you figured it out. Now, go get rest. I am eager for you to dismount."_

He grumbled a reply he was too tired to articulate and she didn't care enough to pry him for the meaning. She dipped down back into the bailey, where the men, now half-sober, gawked at her scarlet form. She hovered a few feet from the ground, to which the human jumped off and landed awkwardly on his feet. His men came up to him and asked questions, but he didn't attempt to answer any of them and kept walking -with the occasional teeter in his step- towards the castle.

Angelus pulled out of the bailey and into the sky. She was still in shock of being a pact-partner to a human, least of all a bloodthirsty, stubborn, thickheaded general bent on revenge. She figured that if she were ever to have a pact-partner, she would surely butt heads with them, but not like this. She sighed. She was too tired to consider all of this at the moment… She searched the castle below her wearily. Now… where was that hallway the human had told her about…?

…………………

Woo! That was all pulled out of my butt! I hope I'm not getting them too out of character… The fact that Caim can now speak - but only we and Angelus can hear him- makes it a little difficult to keep him as the strong, silent type… because he's no longer silent… Though, with the other characters, it is a bit easier because I hear their voice in my head and if a certain line fits them, then I'm okay with it.

Angelus is the only hard one with that.

But yeah, have any of you ever wondered what had happened when Inuart and Furiae met Angelus? Or how Caim magically learned how to stay on a dragon while she's pulling off all of these moves and getting shot? I'm just trying to fill in the holes. Hopefully, I'm doing it in a convincing manner.

Love ya!

Ja!


	4. The Silent Forest

Yay! I'm loved! Ya'll's reviews have really brightened up my day. Even though there's only twelve of them, there's over a hundred hits to the story! WOO::jumps for joy:

Well, ya'll will be happy to know that I got the whole plot figured out. It was really hard because if the ones of you that have played the second Drakengard remember, at the very beginning and when Caim enters, there's the cut scene (or bits of it) where Furiae stabs herself, right? Well, I found out that that's not part of the original plot for the first ending. It's for the third. So, I found a way to include it and a couple other things that were meant for the other endings. But no evil demon babies or time-portals that lead to present day Japan. Huzzah.

_**Shadow of a Soldier**_

_**Chapter Four**_

_**The Silent Forest**_

Caim awoke in his bed early that morning, not so eager to have to face the dragon again. The "flight lessons" she gave last night had birthed an acute migraine that was making itself known to his temples, and his back throbbed from all of the crouching he had to do while she was performing all of her aerial tricks and dodges. He rubbed the small of his back as he pushed himself out of his white bed. Regretfully, there was work to be done.

After completing his morning routine of washing his face, hands and getting dressed (and also suiting into his armor), he headed for the grand hall, where all of the soldiers were sleeping on the floor. It wasn't that they had to sleep on the floor, just that they only got so far as the great hall before passing out. He shook his head at the obstacle course the soldiers' prostrate bodies made as he came to the doorway to the great hall. How pathetic. He would have a hard time waking them up… three hundred men with hangovers weren't suited for a long march.

_"I see you are already awake,_ the dragon commented as Caim made his way through the labyrinth of sleeping bodies. _"Good. It is time to begin to move out. Gather any conscious men and prepare them for the trip to the forest. They will move on horses on the ground while you and I take to the air."_

Caim paused at the great hall's two grand doors, which were usually open, but closed in this time of war. He placed a gloved hand on the handle and replied, _What, Furiae and Inuart aren't going to be riding you as well?_

The dragon hesitated, then answered, _"After flying with you last night, I thought it ill indeed to have two other humans crowded onto my back, and they are not as suited to it as you. They may fall off, and during a battle, I may not have time to pick them up. They will ride in the middle of a throng of your troops on horses, and you and I will search for ambushes from the sky. That will be our course of action."_

Caim's lip curled a bit; he didn't like having to leave Furiae and Inuart on the ground while he was miles above them in the air. But the dragon was right. She would be hindered with two more people on her, and there was a greater chance of them falling. This was the only way.

He shoved the heavy doors to the great hall and came to a small hallway, which the door leading out of it gave way to the courtyard, and then the bailey. When he arrived in the bailey, the dragon was already there, in the middle. The servants had taken the tables and food away, back into the mess hall and kitchen. He approached the dragon and stated, _All of my men are passed out in the great hall. The Apocalypse itself wouldn't wake them._

The dragon lowered her head to the point where her nose was inches from Caim's. He could feel every breath she took; the hot air of her breath puffed regularly from her nostrils. But Caim wasn't daunted. He stared fiercely back into the dragon's amber eyes. _"You are too soft with them," _she reprimanded sternly. _"Act like a commander and wake them! This is urgent! Or do you want the Empire on our tails the entire trip?"_

Caim gritted his teeth and then turned back towards the castle, bitter and angry. He hated having to yield to the damn dragon! He was the proud son of a king! He slammed his fist into a stone wall when the doors behind him to the outside shut to vent a part of his frustration. But she was always right! He would end up having to obey her commands because they were always the most logical and practical things to do… He reached behind his head to his back, where the hilt of his sword lay. Waking up these bums would be a good way to relieve stress.

As he reached the great hall, he surveyed the room: every man still as motionless as death. He frowned. He usually shouted at the men to get them up, but now that his voice was lost, he would have to think of a more creative means. His mouth turned upward in an impish smile. An idea had hit him.

Carefully, he gathered all of the helmets of the men, and placed them quietly in small piles of about four or five in a small line down the width of the hall. He weighed one in his left hand as Inuart came through the corridor doorway on the other side of the hall.

"Ah, Caim!" he greeted warmly. "How-"

Caim's stern glance and finger against his mouth stopped Inuart in mid-sentence. Confused, Inuart stared at his friend for an explanation. Caim simply pointed at the throng of sleeping men strewn about the floor, and then, beckoned Inuart to come over to his side. The red-haired aristocrat let an inquisitive eyebrow incline. What was his old friend up to?

As soon as Inuart cleared the distance between them, Caim's smirk grew into an all-out grin. Inuart looked over Caim's face, then his right hand, which held his sword, and then the left, which held one of his men's helmets. Inuart leaned in close. "What are you doing?"

Caim simply turned back to the helmet he was holding in his left, threw it up, and then hit it with his sword, propelling it into a man's head. The sound itself was deafening, and the impact must have been horrible. Inuart laughed as he held his hands up against his head and Caim continued to bombard the troops with their helmets one by one.

The Union general was, for once, having fun with waking them up. He tossed a helmet into the air, swung and hit it with his sword, and then it hit a random body part of some unfortunate soldier. He couldn't think of a better way to wake the troops up.

When he was out of helmets, and every soldier was groaning, he went through the mob, kicking the men lightly and nudging them with his sword. He looked to Inuart, who then nodded, and began to shout, "Get up, everyone! It's time to move out! We must get to the forest as soon as we can! I hope you enjoyed your alarm for this morning, courtesy of your commanding officer! Get up, get up!" He also joined in with kicking the soldiers awake, and Caim glanced over to the window, where the dragon was standing, observing.

_"Did you have fun?"_ she asked. _"I'm sure the men will be taking back their toasts to you that they made last night."_

Caim shrugged off the dragon's comment and began to walk the length of the hall, where the dragon was slowly and awkwardly following on her two legs. _They know better than to sleep past dawn. Besides, I know you enjoyed it as well._

_"Hmm…"_ the dragon replied simply.

…………

"Company: Move out!" Inuart cried to the hundreds of soldiers that surrounded him and Furiae. The noon sun was beaming gently down at them, sometimes being snuffed out by a gray cloud. A mild wind blew at their tired, hot faces for a bit of relief as they began the march from the castle on horseback. Inuart turned over to his bride-to-be and flinched at her pale face. "Furiae, are you all right?"

Furiae turned and tried to smile, but her heart was not into it. It never was these days. "I am well, Inuart. You needn't worry about me."

Inuart leaned back and sighed. Furiae never did like to burden herself on others, not even when she became the goddess. She would never tell anyone, not even Caim, what was wrong with her. He shook his head. He wished she would stop that… she could avoid so much heartache…

On a passing thought, Inuart lifted his head to the skies, where he saw a silhouette of a dragon flying carelessly above them. His eyes narrowed slightly. He still hadn't gotten over the fact that Caim had made a pact with a dragon. It was so… surreal… A wave of jealousy washed through Inuart's mind. Why was Caim the one that always took that first step? He was always ahead of Inuart in everything that they did… Caim was the first one accepted into the Union. Caim was the first one to master his sword completely. Caim was the first to be promoted. Caim was the first one to lead an army into battle… This was no different…

Inuart shook his head to clear the thoughts from his mind. How could he be so horrible as to think those things about his best friend? Caim had the decency to tutor him sometimes, when the general wasn't overworked with duties. In a sense, the two were brothers. Inuart placed a hand on his forehead. He should be glad that Caim had obtained new strength to protect Furiae… strength to make up for his own weakness…

-

Angelus sniffed the air, testing it for unwelcome smells. She found none. She then turned her sights to the ground, where the goddess and the rest of the humans were traveling. There didn't seem to be any enemies… She breathed a sigh of relief. For a moment, she could relax in the air.

_"Tell me, human,"_ she began semi-amiably, _"How do you enjoy flying?"_

The human, Caim, seemed a little off guard by her question. _Why do you ask?_

She shrugged her shoulders. _"I know your human lore and poetry. You all dream of flying away from your petty problems and suffering. So, now that you have obtained what so many have dreamed about, how do you like it?"_

Caim's face fell a bit. …_Well, I suppose when you're not trying to throw me off of your back or make me airsick… I… presume it's all right. _

Angelus cocked her head. _"Really? Go on…"_

She felt the human's mind hesitate, as if he gauged whether or not to answer her. After a moment of his silence, he responded, …_I never wanted to 'fly away from my problems'. That was always Inuart and Furiae… In the past, I had no need for wings. I would rather deal with whatever was troubling me face front and sword by my side._

She was genuinely shocked by his rather callus response. A human? Not wanting to fly? She turned her head towards the man on her back. _"Is that really how you feel?"_

Caim crossed his arms and his dark blue eyes bore into her own. _What do I have to gain from lying to you?_

_"Dignity," _she responded simply.

Angelus cocked her head as a small smile appeared on the man's face. _According to you, humans have none to begin with. _

_"That wouldn't stop an ignorant creature such as yourself from attempting to acquire some."_ She turned her head back to the front. This human was proving to be more and more interesting the more she talked to him.

Caim leaned back on his hands casually. How long had they been flying now? He glanced down at the small parade of his sister's protectors -which, from his height, looked like a small army of ants- and sighed. If only he could save Furiae from her horrible fate… but she was the only woman that fit the description that hierarch Verdelet depicted. She was the only one who fit the role. There simply was no other choice.

In his musing, the dragon stopped abruptly and startled him. _"Pah!"_ the dragon roared in frustration. _"Must you weak humans stop every five minutes?"_

Caim, curious as to what provoked the dragon's anger, glanced back to the ground, where he saw his men making camp. He turned behind him to see the castle, the lines becoming fuzzy and vague to his blue eyes. Maybe they had traveled father than he had expected. Before he could command the dragon to take him to the ground, she dove while circling sharply to the earth. _"I will not be hindered by this pack of lazy bums! We must push forward!"_ she cried furiously as she landed.

When the dust she kicked up settled, Caim hopped off of her and moved toward the camp. Inuart walked to him, indignant. "The horses cannot take much more without a rest. Besides, the men are starting to get hungry."

Angelus let a few tongues of flame escape her agape mouth; maybe instilling some fear in these gutless worms would give them incentive. _"Your horses are fine. Perhaps if you did not burden them with such heavy loads, they could move quicker and farther."_

The mute human gave her a disapproving glance, but what did she care? He couldn't do a thing about what she said. And if he objected, she could simply pick him up and fly away with him dangling from her claws or teeth like a mammal would her kit. The red-haired man, Inuart, glared at her.

"The men are not as heavy as you would think, Dragon! They weight little more than Caim or myself! And Furiae is no burden!"

Angelus let a growl rumble through her chest and nostrils as she lowered her crimson head to the man's eye-level. _"Then your horses are either out of shape or you are babying them. We haven't been traveling for more than four or five of your hours. THEY. ARE FINE."_

_Calm down, Dragon,_ her pact-partner observed from the sidelines.

She dismissed him with a small swish of her wings as she stood to her full height. She wanted to see these horses that needed a break so badly. Disregarding the curses and demands coming from her pact-partner's redheaded friend, she made her way to the log where the horses were tied. They looked healthy enough. The horses whinnied and neighed nervously as she observed them. They weren't winded at all.

However, a small gasp to her left caught her attention. She turned to the only correctly erected tent and poked her immense head through the flap to see the goddess panting and shivering. Angelus then understood: it wasn't the horses or the men they were stopping for…

She suddenly felt awkward, a strange emotion for a dragon. _"Are you not well?"_ she asked softly of the woman who was facing away from her. Furiae slowly turned her head to reveal an almost gray face and deathly blue lips. Though looking dreadful, the goddess attempted a smile.

"I… have been better…" she replied in a hushed whisper. "But… it's only for a little while. It'll… go away in an hour… or so…" She slowly rolled back into her previous position. "I'm… sorry…"

Angelus let her head hover in the tent for just a moment before pulling it out to see the Caim human standing beside her, a knowing expression etched onto his stoic face. Angelus prepared herself for a sarcastic remark from her pact-partner, but all that came from him was, _She's sick, isn't she?_

Angelus nodded slowly. _"She looks… deathly ill…"_ The human said nothing in reply. After a few moments of his silence, her gaze narrowed. _"In my defense, the Inuart man should have said it was her and not the horses. Damn humans; can't you restrain your lies?"_

The Caim human quirked an eyebrow. _What are you defending yourself from, Dragon? I didn't accuse you of anything._

She then saw her mistake and regretted it fully. The human had caught her in a trap and he knew it. Angelus struggled for some kind of rebuttal, but nothing came. She glanced at the human's face to see a growing smirk and snarled. _"Damn you!"_ she howled as she opened her wings and took off into the air.

Caim took a few casual steps after her and crossed his arms. _Where are you going?_

As her shape became smaller and smaller against the muffled gray sky, she replied with disdain, _"To obtain a reprieve from your species' stupidity, however small and menial it may be."_

Caim couldn't help but smirk; the dragon was proving to be more and more entertaining. Still, he had to tend to his men, make sure there wasn't some one with a kind of mortal wound or something. He turned back to the camp and looked over his troops. All seemed to be well.

The Union general turned as footsteps approached him rapidly from behind. Inuart seemed furious. "Your dragon has some nerve, Caim, to say all of those things about your men and horses. Didn't you say anything to it?"

He knew the dragon was listening through him and felt her anger to the pronoun Inuart had used for her. Still, Caim understood Inuart's anger and simply shrugged. He turned away, leaving his friend with his mouth agape, towards the men. They smiled up in awe at their now mute general, amazed how he could ride a dragon. Caim dismissed the glowing faces, though. Something was disturbing him…

…………

A few hours later, as Caim, (who was settled in a small circle with Inuart and Furiae) was eating a small sandwich, the dragon's mind pushed into his own. _"We must leave!"_ she roared. The mute raised his head up to the sky in curiosity to see the dragon's scarlet form circling above him. _"I was right. The Empire has anticipated our move."_

Caim stood and stared at the dragon as she landed in the middle of camp. Inuart, suspicious at his friend's movements, came forward. "What is it?" he asked tentatively. At Inuart's question, Furiae stopped eating her own meal and watched the conversation silently. Caim pursed his lips and turned to the dragon, who had walked up behind him.

The dragon wasted no time mincing her words. _"They attacked the village of the elves. It may already be gone."_ Inuart, shocked and utterly appalled, took a couple steps back.

"How do you know…?" he asked slowly.

_"I heard a voice. It may be better to go elsewhere,"_ the dragon replied confidently. However, Inuart refused to believe her.

"Nonsense!" he cried, sweeping his hand around him, "A pact-beast may have powers, but I believe only my own eyes!" He turned to Furiae and grabbed her arm roughly. "Come on! We're going to the village NOW!"

Caim was about to release his sister from Inuart's unnaturally strong grip when she gasped and collapsed to the ground. The redheaded man immediately stopped and crouched over her protectively. "Furiae!" he cried, concerned over welfare.

Furiae waved off his hands. "No I…" she began shakily, "I am well…"

"That's not true…" Inuart replied softly, "…You carry the awful weight of the Seal. We must find you a place to rest." He stood, Furiae's arm slung around his shoulders. He took a glance at Caim, who seemed to be concerned, but hid it well. To reassure his friend, Inuart smiled and led Furiae back to her tent.

Angelus snorted. _"I grow weary of this, Human, and I sense evil cluttering in the skies."_

The human turned completely towards her, hands crossed over his armored chest. …_Are you going to keep calling me that? "Human"?_

She let a rumble course through her throat. _"Isn't that what you are?"_

Not really wanting to answer that, Caim let a scoff sound, and then proceeded to mount the dragon to destroy the threat in the sky. His mind wars with the dragon would have to wait.

……………

Wow, that was longer than usual… Yippee!

I think I OOC'd Caim a bit… dammit…

I'm going to go to Hell! I ate meat this morning… I completely forgot it was Lent… :beats head: GRR!

Oh, and sorry if it's not as good as the other chapters… I took an AP test yesterday and it's still affecting me. Sorry.

Ja…


	5. Mistake

Holy crap… There's over 222 hits to this story now… so many for such a small fandom!

My head hurts…

I want a scanner so I can put up me drawings of Caim and L from Death Note on the Internet…

_**Shadow of a Soldier**_

_**Chapter Five**_

_**Mistake**_

Angelus bombarded the bats with her fireballs relentlessly, snorting in disgust when the stench of their charred fur and flesh reached her sensitive nose. _"Filthy rabid vermin," _she scoffed. How dare they try to ambush a great dragon like her? Persistent insects.

She turned her attention towards the human on her back. She sensed his bloodlust rising again, eager to see more slaughter. As she looked at him when the enemies were cleared from the skies, his once solemn, calm eyes were wide and thirsty for death. _Take me down, Dragon!_ he commanded, his maniacal voice laughing in her head. _Take me down so I can kill them!_

Though she didn't like to have to succumb to a human's command, in his current mental state, he might stab her back in order for her to land. Angelus snarled and began to circle the forest. She did see Imperial troops through the gaps in the trees, but she would have to land further away. Her broad wings couldn't fit through the limbs. But the Caim human surprised her; when she was just low enough to skim the trees with her feet, his weight suddenly disappeared.

Angelus stopped and searched the treetops, almost scared for the safety of the human. Had he fallen off? Would he even be able to answer her? It wasn't that long of a fall, but humans always surprised her with their fragility. _"Wha- Human? Human, where-"_

She was answered by a myriad of screams a few yards away, where she had felt the human drop off of her. She flew over to that spot and glanced through the leaves to see her pact-partner swinging his sword like a madman -a very skilled madman- and killing all who came within the reach of his arm. She growled and tore apart some of the limbs with her feet to vent her fury.

_"Fool!"_ she roared in his head, _"You could have killed yourself -and me- with that blasted stunt you just pulled!"_

She expected a response, but none came. She cautiously probed his mind, and what had been a slightly civilized, intelligent creature, was nothing more than a rabid beast. She glared at his dark, armored form through the trees. Was this how he became during every battle? Disgusted, she flew up into the clouds, wanting to leave the monster where it was. She didn't want to be associated with him.

Caim, on the other hand, let his thirst for revenge border on insanity. Any body that came within his view was as good as dead. As he retrieved his sword from a man's head, he rushed on into the next platoon. Hundreds of enemies were around him. Archers raised their bows. He smiled slowly. He was in his element.

Everyone around him had to be slaughtered. No one was an ally, or if they were, then they knew better than to get too close to him. Blood sprayed across his face as he crushed the necks of three men in one hit. All thought of right or wrong deserted the mute completely; he was no longer a sentient being. Just a bloodthirsty savage.

…………

Inuart could see his old friend up ahead, but decided not to battle side by side, lest Caim mistake him for an enemy. The aristocrat sighed. Was all of this bloodletting for the mere sake of revenge? Of hate? No… there had to be something more. No human would really throw himself into the middle of a war simply for revenge. There had to be something else that was driving the mute man. Inuart watched as he cut down fifteen men with a single swipe of his sword. Could Caim even be considered a human anymore?

Inuart lurched his horse forward and galloped toward Caim. He needed to help as well, even if the general didn't need it. "Caim!" he cried over the cacophony of battle.

The general turned to his name, which left him open to an attack to his side, where the armor was weak and thin. Surprise sprang onto his face as the enemy's sword plunged in him and he staggered for just a moment. Inuart's heart stuttered. Caim had just been stabbed!

"CAIM!" he cried again, this time at a full run on the horse. His sword out, he managed to behead the rest of the small group Caim had been fighting against. His friend still remained standing, how, Inuart did now know, but he held out his hand to the wounded general. "Caim, how deep is the wound?"

Caim simply looked up at the musician, smiled menacingly, and ran off to another pack of Empire soldiers. Inuart sighed and withdrew his hand. "Not very deep, then, I suppose…" Cautiously, Inuart rode to cover his friend's flank.

……………

Angelus roared from the sky. She didn't know how, but the human had been injured; the small pain in her side told her that much. She snarled. And with her luck, he was probably still battling. Damn fool.

By the time she was able to see through the trees, she saw her human counterpart, of course, battling, but instead of armored soldiers, he was clashing with white-robed magicians. As she studied the human, her fears were correct. She smelled his own blood covering him, and even more alarming, saw it dripping steadily from his side. He was bleeding profusely, and yet he still fought. She growled. Of course she would make a pact with the one human bent on destroying himself and everyone around him! As she tried to find a way into the close-knit trees, the magicians saw her scarlet form and tried to blast her away from the battlefield. She grudgingly obliged and turned. If that moron didn't stop battling soon…

Maybe she could try and talk him into retreating. She rolled her eyes at the thought, but she had to try. No matter how determined he was, his body would not sustain him for long. _"Damn human!"_ she snarled in his mind, _"Get out of there! Can't you tell you're injured?"_

No answer came from his mind. She grasped the frail tree limbs and attempted to push them aside, but she couldn't without the risk of falling. She heaved her wings again and flew over the forest, circling where the human was fighting a now losing battle.

There were about thirty or so magicians firing pink spell-arrows, piercing the man's body every which way. She howled in her frustration. The trees blocked her form from entering! She couldn't help! Anxiety and even fear filled her as she frantically tried to find a way to her pact-partner. How could she get in? She was too big! Suddenly, a sharp pain coursed through her chest and, to her horror, the man collapsed in a bloody heap.

_"CAIM!"_

……………

Caim awoke to find himself bandaged and bloody, lying on something hard and warm. His chest armor was completely off and nowhere in sight, leaving his torso naked, save for the bloody bandages covering most of him. Red splotches dotted the white gauze. Dazed, he glanced around to see a village now nothing but charred ruins. What were left of the few huts that dotted the scenery were mere half-destroyed structures. Small fires still lived in some, and he saw a few newly-made graves along the cobblestone path that wound its way through the middle of the village. Was he in the elf village? He tried to sit up, but a red flash knocked him back against the hard thing he was lying on.

_"Don't you even DARE,"_ the dragon's mind snarled at him. _"Your damn stupidity almost killed us today; I will not allow you to even breathe without my permission from here on out."_

Caim looked to his side to see red scales; he was lying on the dragon. He glanced up to see her head arched above him, her teeth exposed in a malignant snarl. She was lying on her side and he was propped against her abdomen and her left wing and tail seemed to encircle him almost protectively. He blinked slowly. _Why are you so angry?_

She slammed her tail against the ground, leaving a trench where it had hit. _"Because you are a moron! You pitted yourself against hundreds of enemies, and when you were hurt, did you think about how serious the wound was? Of course not. Could you have left the rest of the Imperial troops to your own competent army? Never, because it seems to me that you are NOT bent on revenge, just DAMNING yourself!"_

Caim propped himself up with an arm to better look at the dragon. _I have survived this long, haven't I?_ he responded indignantly.

_"And it's a wonder how, too!"_ she replied, completely furious.

Caim snarled back at the dragon. He was not about to let a scaly, overgrown bat (she was more like one than a damn lizard; lizards weren't bloodsucking and annoying beyond all hell). _You listen, Dragon, when I made that pact with you, I only wanted a partner in destroying the Empire, not a surrogate MOTHER!_

Flames spouted from her mouth in fury and she roughly pushed her horned nose against Caim's face. _"And YOU listen to ME, Human: if you pull another stunt like that EVER again, I will personally throw you into the pits of Hell myself. You will NEVER voluntarily enter into a battle when you are stupidly outnumbered and where I cannot reach you. If not for your friend Inuart, you and I would be carnage for the ravens right now, do you understand me?"_

Caim glared back for as long as he could, but his arm gave way and he fell back to the dragon's hide. He cursed his luck; those magicians had surprised him. He would have been fine against regular enemies… and why was the dragon so angry? She should have known what they were up against. As he was about to reposition himself on the dragon, she muttered, _"You need to control yourself when in the midst of battle; your bloodlust completely consumes what intelligence and decency you have left. It's irritating to try and strategize your movements from the air when you act like a rabid dog on a rampage."_

That was it. Caim pushed himself off of the dragon's scarlet hide and staggered over to a tree. The dragon rose onto all fours -she used her wings as forelegs- and let her teeth show. _"And where do you think you are going?"_

The mute glared back at his draconian counterpart. _To find a bed that doesn't harass or tell me how to lead my life! _He started to walk towards the encampment he saw a little further down the cobblestone path, but the dragon's tail collided against his side, propelling him into a scorched thatch-roofed cottage. Pain exploded in both sides and his right shoulder, but he still tried to get up. He heard the dragon's footsteps and turned toward her.

She poked his half-naked torso with the thumb of her wing, which caused him to fall back to the stone underneath him. _"There aren't any. At least, none that I will allow."_

The mute shoved her thumb away, but stayed on the ground. He had to catch his breath. _What do you mean?_

_"I mean that I will not allow you to sleep anywhere else, because I cannot see you. If we are to live through this, then I will have to make sure you don't do anything life-threateningly moronic again."_ Caim picked up a loose rock and threw it at the dragon, which missed by a few feet, and tried to get back up.

His voice was strained as he attempted to push himself back up again. _I told you I don't need your mothering!_

The dragon scoffed and shoved him back down with her wing. _"Yes, why don't you tell me that when you're NOT covered in bandages and, a few hours ago, was half-dead?"_

Caim punched the floor in frustration and rolled half onto his back to face the dragon. _Are you going to keep pushing me down?_

_"Yes,"_ she answered sternly, _"I will, to prove a point."_

The mute glared at the dragon, clung to a crumbling stone wall and tried to heave himself onto his feet, but the dragon, once again, pushed him back down. Sighing regretfully, he looked up at the crimson, scaly bat and asked sarcastically, _Oh? And what point is that?_

The scarlet dragon's gaze narrowed. _"To show you how weak you really are right now. Had you been at full strength, you would only have fallen at my tail blow. Now look at you. You stagger with every step, your breath comes in gasps, and now, your arms are shaking from the weight of your torso."_

In reflex, Caim looked down to his arms, which, as the dragon had stated, were shaking violently and were threatening to collapse. He cursed. The damn beast was right again. _"Now,"_ she began again, _"You will come with me and you will sleep and rest until your wounds are better, lest you put us into unnecessary danger again."_

She pushed her nose in front of the mute, not to intimidate him, but for him to grab onto. After a moment of silent sulking, Caim regretfully grasped her nose and let her take him to his former spot: in a small clearing propped up against her abdomen. Caim grudgingly obliged, but he had no intention of sleeping. He crossed his arms and stared straight ahead, refusing to relent to the steady throbbing emanating from his side.

Angelus's anger swelled yet again; how stubborn and bull-headed was this human going to be? He was on the brink of death a mere few hours ago, and yet he was jeopardizing his chance to recover to simply piss her off! She snarled at his nerve. _"Don't make me knock you unconscious so you will sleep, because I will do it."_

Caim was about to reply when Inuart's form caught his attention. The dragon noticed the man as well, and as he drew near, she asked, _"May we help you?"_

Caim had never seen Inuart so depressed before. The redhead walked a little closer to the mute and placed a gloved hand on his wounded friend's shoulder. "I… see that you're doing better…" he stated slowly, "I'm glad…"

Both human and dragon were bewildered by his behavior. Speaking only to her pact-partner, the dragon asked, _"… Does he always act like this?"_

_No…_ Caim replied slowly. _Something must be wrong…_

The dragon snorted and asked of Inuart, _"What is wrong?"_

He glanced up to the dragon's head, then to his friend, then down to his feet. "Hell… Hell has come here… What shall I do…? This was the only place that Furiae could be safe…" He let his gaze go back up to his friend. "Where can we take her?"

Caim lowered his own eyes to his hands. He couldn't think of anywhere else. His own castle and the elf village were the only possibilities… They might have been remote enough to where the Empire might overlook them, and anywhere else was simply too large of a target for Imperial troops to attack to consider as a possible hiding place. At that moment, footsteps interrupted his thinking, and he looked up to see his sister cautiously approaching them with a small basin of water and half a loaf of bread. She held up her possessions shyly and placed them next to her brother. She glanced over to Inuart and rubbed his back to attempt to cheer him up. "I'm sorry," she said softly. Inuart shook his head and patted her shoulder with a gloved hand.

"It's not your fault," Inuart replied.

Furiae's light blue eyes lowered in doubt and then raised to meet her brother's. "You need nourishment, brother. Go on and eat." Though Caim really wasn't that hungry or thirsty, he took the basin and began to drink slowly to make Furiae more at ease.

Then, the dragon raised her head, as if listening to some strange sound, and then lowered it again. _"The hierarch… Verdelet…" _she began slowly, _"I hear his voice!"_

Inuart's head snapped up to meet the dragon's eyes. "His voice? …He has a pact-beast too?"

The scarlet dragon still seemed to be listening and replied dismissively, _"Yes, a dragon. A petrified dragon."_

Furiae stood and took a small step toward the dragon. "Where is he now?"

The dragon then looked down at the small group of humans; she didn't seem to be listening anymore. _"He is at the Temple in the Desert. He wants you to go to him, for your own safety."_

Inuart stood from his crouch as well and trudged over to a stone pillar, placing his head on the cold stone as he did. "Oh, Furiae… you must forgive me… I'm not strong enough to protect you…"

Furiae trotted to his side and tried to look into his eyes, but he turned his head as she did. She tried to smile. "But your songs, they calm me."

Inuart raised his head from the stone. "Songs?" he asked incredulously. "I pray for strength…" He turned to Furiae, then back to Caim and the dragon. "I will take Furiae to the desert temple, accompanied by some of the remaining troops. Do as you wish, Caim." He then took a last glance at Furiae, then left.

Furiae sighed, bowed to the dragon and trotted after the redhead. Caim frowned and ripped off a small chunk off of the loaf of bread. _So, Dragon, what shall we do?_

Angelus hesitated as another voice called to her softly. It wasn't the hierarch… was there another pact-partner within the forest? Would they be able to further their cause? She growled and replied, _"I hear another voice. We should investigate further, and then catch up to Furiae and Inuart later."_

Caim turned to better scrutinize the dragon. …_It's that important?_

_"Yes…"_ she replied absently, _"I fear they may be in danger, and we need all the allies we can get. We will explore this tomorrow, when you are better suited for travel."_

Caim frowned; it seemed nothing would deter the dragon from him getting rest. But his mind was simply not ready to sleep, there were too many things that needed to be accomplished. Still, he was rather tired, and his side did hurt quite a bit now that his attention was off rebutting the dragon's comments and back to himself. As he was about to try and convince the dragon to let him overlook his troops, a flash of red sped before his vision and something heavy and hard collided with his head.

The human fell limp against her once more; her tail blow had been enough to knock him out. Angelus snorted her amusement as her tail gently waved to and fro. Now he couldn't run away. She settled her enormous head next to where the human lay, satisfied that once again, she had gotten her way.

…………

:looks at chapter: Eh…

The reason that Caim got hurt in here is because the first time that I played the mission in the forest with all of the magicians, I nearly died. A lot. I hate them so much…


	6. Leonard

Why, hello everyone! This chapter was a little harder than the others. Why? I have no clue. It just was.

I forget who asked, but someone asked if there was going to be any Caim/Angelus in here. Seeing as how they do have some sort of affection for each other by the end of the game, yes, but only on the spiritual level. I would think it hard not to hold someone near and dear to your heart when they're literally a part of your soul. It's not a romantic love, just a love, like between family members or best friends.

LALALALALA!

_**Shadow of a Soldier**_

_**Chapter Six**_

_**Leonard**_

Angelus awoke slowly to the gentle morning light that warmed her scaled face. Blinking, she realized that it was the next morning. Had she really slept that long? She let a yawn out and then turned to her side, where the human slept.

Or, at least, where he was supposed to be sleeping.

Damning the human's name with every curse she could possibly think of, she rose to her feet and searched the ruins for her humanoid counterpart. She spotted him in the middle of the village in a small stone square, quietly munching on a piece of cheese. He had suited fully into his armor, and no one else seemed to be within the perimeters of the elf village except for the two of them and a proud black stallion tied up a few yards away. He noticed her and, though she was more than thirty feet away, she saw his gaze narrow into a glare.

_You knocked me out…_ he stated with disdain dripping from his words.

_"You were being an ass," _she replied as she made her way to him. He scoffed and resumed eating, paying no heed to her as she cleared the distance between them.

She studied the human; he was paler than the day before, but that could be blamed on the blood loss. After he had a little more time to recuperate, his skin wouldn't be so ghostly white. He wasn't shaking, but his grip looked weak on his food. He also seemed to be careful when twisting, lest he anger his side. To test the human's strength, Angelus cocked her head and shoved him with the thumb of her wing as she did yesterday. He didn't falter and glared at her some more, which made her own draconian lip quirk into a strange smile. _"I see you're better."_

_Maybe if you didn't slam your tail into my head, I would feel even better than I do now, _he responded venomously and angrily chewed the last piece of cheese.

The dragon shrugged her shoulders. _"If I hadn't, you would be worse off because you would have walked around and probably hurt yourself again."_

Caim shook his head wearily; these damn mind games were getting tiresome. He sighed and replied, …_Inuart and the troops left this morning, about an hour before dawn. All of them. We're alone, save for this horse._ He gestured to the stallion and turned his head slightly to the dragon. _You said you heard a different voice yesterday, is it still there?_

Angelus was surprised that he didn't even attempt to win their mental war, but let it roll. There would be others. She listened for the voice, and sure enough, it was there, yet fainter than last she heard it. She nodded and replied, _"Yes… though it is weaker than yesterday. I fear that we may be too late."_

Caim stood slowly and absently rubbed his wounded side; it still bothered him a little if he turned too quickly or stretched the wrong way. If he were careful, he would be fine. He made his way to the black stallion and started to fiddle with the reins when the dragon asked, _"And what, exactly, is that horse for?"_

_Me,_ he replied dully and continued to untangle the reins from its knot. _Inuart left it for me. _He turned to look at the dragon as he added sarcastically, _Wasn't that thoughtful of him?_

Angelus snarled. _"And why, exactly, are you replacing me with a horse?"_

The man's eyebrow quirked and he returned his attention back to the knot. _"Replacing you"? When did I say I was replacing you?_ He glanced over his shoulder, a smug smirk on his pale face. _Are you really that insecure?_

_"No," _Angelus snarled back, _"Why aren't you riding me?"_

The man seemed surprised. _You WANT me to ride you? Wouldn't that be demeaning to a proud, dignified dragon such as yourself?_

Angelus let her chest puff out and let the human's sarcasm roll over her. _"Why not? You are my pact-partner, whether I like it or not. It would be 'demeaning' for you to rather ride a pony instead of me." _She waited for his reaction and got a simple head shake and his turning his back on her.

_I'm going to ride this horse because, frankly, I don't feel well enough to attempt to ride you,_ the man muttered as he finally loosened the knot. He climbed onto the horse, which, after riding a dragon for the past couple of days, felt awkward and alien. He shrugged it off. It was either this or the dragon. He turned and glared at the crimson beast. _Wasn't that what you were bitching about yesterday? About me taking stupid risks?_

_"At least I know where you are if you're on my back,"_ Angelus replied sternly. After a moment of the two glaring at each other, the man kicked his horse and they trotted off out into the wood, letting his glower linger on her as he left. With the bitter taste of defeat in her mouth, she flew up into the sky, ever watchful of the man on the ground.

Then, a rather wonderful thought came to her as she eyed the stallion. _"After you are done with that horse," _she began loftily, _"I would like to eat it."_

She saw the man down below turn and gaze up at her, astonishment and horror etched onto his face. …_What?_

_"I want to eat your horse,"_ she repeated politely. He stared up at her for a moment, and then returned his gaze back to the front.

_You're pathetic,_ he replied wearily. Angelus threw a fireball down at him, missing the horse's side by a few inches. The horse, startled, reared and almost threw the man off, but, to Angelus' dismay, he had enough skill on a horse to keep it from tossing him. After calming the horse down with gentle strokes on the neck, he glared back up at her. _I can't believe you're jealous of a damn horse! And not only that, you're trying to get rid of your competition by EATING it!_ He straightened, and for once, looked regal and poised as he defiantly glowered at her in the sky. He seemed to be about to add something else to his comment.

Angelus cocked her head at his sudden display of refinement. _"Yes?"_

He seemed about to say something, then merely scoffed and shook his head as he kicked the horse and they galloped off further into the trees. The mighty dragon snorted her disdain for the black horse that carried her pact-partner into the wood; oh yes, that stallion would be her next meal.

…………

Leonard stared in horror at his home, which had caught fire and was completely consumed by crimson flames. He slowly picked up the dagger the youngest of his brothers, Lukhege, had given him as a birthday present only a couple of weeks ago. He looked back to said brother, who had half a dozen arrows sticking out of his back, bright red blood oozing out of the wounds. Leonard took the blade with both hands and carefully placed the point at his throat. He couldn't live on like this.

"Laum… Riversal… Lukhege…" he stated slowly as tears welled up in his eyes. "My brothers forgive me… forgive me…"

He gritted his teeth and began to press the blade into his throat, but as the point pricked his skin, he threw the blade down in defeat. It seemed that he was too cowardly to even kill himself. As he wallowed in his own self-pity, a chime sounded behind him. What could it possibly have been in such a grave and melancholy site? He turned to see a green bright light flickering here and there behind him.

He held his hand up to shield his eyes from the glare of the pale green light. What could it possibly be? A faerie?

He turned from the faerie back to the conflagration that was once his home. "What evil have I done…?" he began slowly, "My brothers butchered… our home put to flame… and where was I?"

The faerie, malicious and wicked, let his ears perk to this little scrap of news. He always loved to torture humans with their problems. They simply thought too much. "Hmm?" he began. "What's this, what's this? You betrayed your brothers? Your sorry, pitiful little brothers, dead on the ground? What fun, what fun!" He let a laugh sound and flew over to the corpses, which were butchered mercilessly.

"Ee-yuck, what a painful sight!" he squealed in delight as he flew back over to the mourning human. Surely making the man look at the corpses would make him barf or something. How wonderful! "Look, look, looky-look! What was the last thing they saw, I wonder?"

Leonard's heart sputtered at the mere thought. "No… no…" he replied softly while shaking his head. "I cannot… I cannot bear to think of it!"

The faerie grinned at the human's response. Perfect! "Hmm?" he continued as he flew around the human's head, "Makes you sick? Humans are pathetic! Pathetic!" He let a hardy, high-pitched laugh erupt from his chest. "Dirty, smelly… might as well just die!" He laughed again at the thought. "Hey, that's it! Kill yourself! Go on; finish it off, useless human!"

"But I…" Leonard began to protest. His earlier attempt had been a failure, how could he try it again?

The faerie pouted. "Hmm? You're scared? Dying is good! You don't want to die? REALLY?" He flickered to the other side of the human in disgust. A human who didn't want to die was no fun at all. "Ah, what a bore! Seriously, finish yourself off! Oh hold on, of course! Let's make a pact!"

Leonard was caught off guard by the faerie's proposition. A pact? What could the faerie possibly gain from a pact with him? "What do you… mean?"

The faerie flitted back to Leonard's face, irritated. Humans were so slow and stupid! But this way, he could always have a stupid human to make fun of! "You don't get it? Helloo? Is that skull as hollow as a helmet? You and me together forever!" He let another high-pitched maniacal laugh escape him. "Loser, loser! But seriously, let's do it! A pact! Please, please!"

Leonard sighed. What else was there to do…?

…………

The one thing Caim hated more than the actual Empire was the Imperial archer. Cowards, one and all, those bastards: they always backed up to get out of the range of his arm, and he was not in a very patient mood. His side was already bothering him, and he had only been battling for about ten minutes. Add the fact that he couldn't see worth a damn in the heavy fog that surrounded him. It was not boding well.

As he had beheaded another small block of the damned archers, he felt the wind beneath the dragon's beating wings. She could finally fly in the area he was in, now that the archers were gone. The horse whinnied nervously in her shadow, and Caim felt her pride swell. _"Now that the archers are gone, will you mount me now? I will not quiver in the sight of battle, unlike the coward you are riding."_

Caim glared up at her. _Not unless your wings can fit inside the trees. _

The dragon gave a scoff and flew off to burn the rest of the Imperial troops that Caim had somehow overlooked, but not without letting her tail nick the horse's side, which almost knocked him over. _"Oh, excuse me,"_ she commented as she flew off. The mute shook his head. She would really tear the horse apart if he wasn't on it.

He kicked the black stallion forward and began looking for the source of the voice that the dragon had told him about. She said that if he got close enough, then he could hear it as well. Unfortunately, he couldn't call out with his own mind; his pact-price limited him to be able to talk to his pact-beast and his pact-beast alone. No one else. Saying that it was frustrating would be a severe understatement.

Suddenly, a group of six soldiers appeared in his path, to which he snarled and brandished his sword against the heavy fog. It seemed the dragon was getting careless with her targets. He rode forward, then came to a stop when one cried out, "Please! We don't want to fight! We… we surrender!"

Considering the plea, then dismissing it, Caim beheaded the six men easily from his mount. At that moment, without warning, an alien voice in his mind startled him. _"They had no wish to fight! Don't slaughter them so mercilessly!"_

The mute turned and looked for the source, but no one was there. Where had it come from? Was it the voice the dragon was hearing? As if to answer his question, the dragon called from above, _"Human, did you hear that?"_

Caim nodded and he felt the dragon's relief, though small, seep into his mind. _"Good," _she added. _"We are close." _

The Union general lurched his horse forward and followed a new scent that had revealed itself to his nostrils: smoke. He could hear the cackling of fire in the distance, and it might be where the new pact-partner was. He heard the dragon's wings beating against the fog above him. _"He must be near that burning house,_" she commented airily.

They came to a dirt path and then saw the house, which had burnt itself out, but the trees beside it were still burning. A blonde man with a long, pale cloak and staff was standing in front of it; in the distance, Caim could see three corpses. Did the man kill them? As soon as he was close enough, the mute dismounted and led the horse to the man.

The man turned as he heard Caim's footsteps. "You… did hear me…" he spoke in awe. The dragon landed a few feet from Caim, which startled the horse, and asked, _"So you are the pact-human? Where is your partner?"_

"Oooooh!" an annoyingly high-pitched voice cried from the shadows. "A dragon! Oooh, what is a noble creature like that doing here?" A pale green light sprang out from the burnt house, and Caim heard the dragon groan. He turned to her and asked, _What is it?_

_"Of all the creatures on the blasted planet, the man HAD to pick a faerie…"_ Caim turned back to the man and faerie, confused.

_What's wrong with a faerie?_

_"You'll soon find out," _the dragon replied unenthusiastically. The mute turned back to the man to find the blindingly bright light emanating from the faerie inches from his face. Had he a voice, he would have grunted in pain from the sight. He held up his hand to try and shield his blue eyes from the glare. "Oh, this human's reeking of blood! Oooh! Hey, Leonard, maybe HE killed your poor brothers! Ahahahaha!"

The faerie darted around Caim's head like a brilliant mosquito. "I bet you've killed hundreds, no, THOUSANDS of people! Oh, how wonderful! How fun! How much blood have you spilled with that sword of yours?" The faerie flitted back over to his pact-partner, much to Caim's relief. "Hey, Leonard, have a guess, have a guess! Hahahaha!"

Caim instantaneously understood the dragon's loathing of faeries and took a few steps towards the Leonard man. At the sound of his footsteps, the blonde lifted his head to reveal his closed eyes. "From the sound of your blade, I assume you are a Union soldier." He bent at the waist in a low bow. "I am Leonard, at your service. Like you, I have paid the price for a pact."

Angelus took a small step forward. _"You are speaking to my pact-partner Caim, who has lost his voice. And to be blind to the foolishness of humanity is… a happy fate…"_

Leonard slowly shook his head. "But I am not blind to the knowledge." He reached out with his hand and touched the horse's muzzle tentatively. "I wish to aid you, Caim, in your quest. I have nothing to bind me here now."

Caim turned to the dragon and she commented, _"Caim wishes to know of what use you would be. Without your eyes, you are next to useless in battle."_

Leonard turned towards the dragon, (how Leonard knew where she was was a mystery to Caim) and shouted, "I will not! The faerie can use his magics, and though I may be blind, I can still concoct medicinal herbs and food! Please, let me help you!"

Caim looked to the dragon. _He will be a liability. _

_"And so are you,"_ the dragon answered sternly. _"All you humans are." _She turned back towards the hermit and replied, _"We will let you come with us. But I can only carry one passenger. Will you walk all the way to the Empire?"_

Leonard's brow furrowed. "Isn't this a horse I'm touching? I can ride it."

Caim frowned and then pushed the reins into the blind man's hands. It seemed that he would have to go back to riding the dragon sooner than he expected. As he approached his pact-partner, he saw a wide grin of triumph spread across her draconian face. She had won.

As her human pact-partner climbed onto her back, she spread her wings and lifted herself into the air. She ordered the horse onward and gave it directions to where they were headed: the desert seal. It would be a four or five day trip, but at least the mute human was where he belonged again, and they had a little bit of help to aid them. She snorted in content. Things were boding well…

……………

Yeah, I know. What a terrible place to end. But oh well. I need to practice my instrument.

I HATE THE FAERIE! And I don't know whether it's a girl or a boy, but judging from its very short hair and shorts, I'm saying boy. That's just the first impression I got when playing the game.

Ja!


	7. Difficulties

You know, "Growing Wings" has been stuck in my head for the past few days now. It's not that I mind, I love that song, but still… And I don't really remember if Caim kills Inuart in the first ending… I really, really don't. :frowns: But I'll think of something; that part is a long way away.

Oh, and Kingdom Hearts II came in yesterday! I've been waiting a long-ass time for it to come in! FINALLY! And Riku looks f-ing HOT. He has the Caim hair going on… except white… I melted when I saw him in the guide.

_**Shadow of a Soldier**_

_**Chapter 7**_

_**Difficulties**_

…………

_Why was it that each time I try to cleanse my mind of the bloodstains, more appear in their places? Why is it that I lose my decency, my sanity each time I see a battle take place? _

_Furiae has often asked me these things… and I can never fully answer her. I really don't know myself. Inuart seems to brush my "condition" -as my father likes to call it- off as simple bloodlust and turns a blind eye to it. He says that I just have a lot of hate bottled up in me against the Empire. Somehow, I doubt that. _

_I found my name in a mythology book in my father's library. It can be taken as a different pronunciation of Cain, the evil brother who betrayed and killed Abel from the Bible, or, it is the name of a demon who helps rule over one of the "provinces" of Hell. Either way, it isn't a flattering namesake. Did my parents know about this? Did they predict that I would become such a fitting creature for this name?_

_All of this strikes me as my final victim falls to the stone floor, his head now displaced from his neck. I stare into the bloody scene I have just created and wish there were more to kill. _

…………

"Look, my good sirs," Leonard half asked, "We simply want to pass through without any trouble. Please, let us by!"

The three knights standing guard to the entryway to the desert hesitated. They probably would have let the hermit go by, but the man behind him… They weren't stupid; that man was prepared for war. One of the soldiers looked back to the iron and wooden gate they were standing guard for; thirty archers were lined the top in case of an invasion, and the walls surrounding the fort were solid rock. Though they were only two men -one of them blind- somehow, the soldier couldn't shake off the feeling of dread whenever he saw the dark-headed man. "Sorry, sirs, but you'll have to find another way around."

Caim gritted his teeth in irritation and began to rap his fingers on his hip. These guards had no idea who he was and with him lacking a voice, he couldn't tell them. Unfortunately, had they been Imperial soldiers, he would have simply killed them and moved on, but they were Union soldiers, and the Union needed every body they could get. He let out a long, weary sigh and shifted his weight impatiently. Leonard was being too damn polite about this.

The said blind man sighed and turned back to Caim. "It seems we need to rethink our route, my friend. They won't let us through."

The general glared. If Leonard had just said his name, then the guards would surely let them through. But no, Leonard had to avoid using the mute's name for "my friend". Just was his luck. He glared at the blind man as he felt his way around the path using a long stick he had acquired. _I am not your friend yet, you bumbling, incompetent-_

_"Now, now, Human," _he heard the dragon coo from afar. _"I can still hear you from here. Please restrain yourself from obscenities; I am in a rather pleasant mood and would like for it not to be disturbed by your filthy language."_

_Piss off,_ Caim retorted angrily as he followed Leonard back to a local village they had stumbled across. _What put you into such a good mood?_

He heard her chuckle, though her voice was weaker than before; she really must have traveled far in order to hunt. _"The faerie is unconscious. It is now blissfully quiet as I am dining."_

Caim turned over her reply in his head. …_Did you eat it?_

A low rumble of a chuckle, and then, _"Sadly, no. But he did run into my tail rather unexpectedly, so I am not at fault."_

The mute shook his head as he walked down the dirt road leading away from the fortress. It had been only a couple of days since the hermit Leonard joined forces with them, but already the general was getting sick of him and his thorough lack of confidence. The blind man was never assertive, never confident, and he was extremely pacifistic. Exactly the opposite of Caim.

Sighing heavily, he let his head roll up to the blue sky, which was mottled with brewing storm clouds. Perfect. Not only could he look forward to his bantering with the dragon, ignoring the faerie and trying not to give in to the urge to lop off Leonard's head, but to a thunderstorm that would surely hinder their speed to the desert seal. The gods must be laughing at him.

Leonard sighed in front of him, but Caim did not lower his gaze back to the ground. "I am sorry, Caim… I thought that I would be able to convince them to let us through… but apparently not…"

A lip curled on Caim's face. _Maybe if you weren't so thoroughly lacking a spine or had thought to mention my name in front of them-_

_"Hold your tongue, Human," _the dragon called from afar.

The lip curled into a snarl and he tore his gaze abruptly from the cloudy, gray sky. He surveyed the lands, which were -being so close to the desert- barren and lacking vegitation. A few scrawny trees dotted the horizon, but the miserable plants barely looked alive. Sand whirred in mini-tornadoes with the wind, and there was no visible animal life, besides the buzzards circling a carcass a few miles away. Caim let his grimace grow a little more. Could the landscape look any more dismal?

Leonard stopped in front of the mute and turned towards him. "What are we to do now?" he asked softly. "Maybe… we should rest a while here, and gather provisions. The horse should still be tethered at the inn. When the dragon and the faerie return, we can rethink our path." He nodded to himself and turned back around. "Now, if you don't mind, Caim, would you be my eyes for a moment?"

Caim had never felt such seething hate for one man before. He roughly grabbed Leonard's hood and half dragged the blind man across the plain back to the small village. The village itself was barely large enough to be called that; there were only about ten or eleven buildings that made it up. The few inhabitants that walked the unpaved streets kept their distance from the two, their eyes avoiding the men as said men made their way to the inn. Caim disregarded the two children staring wide-eyed at him and shoved the door open, letting go of Leonard as he did.

The inn also served as a tavern; the counter was the first thing one saw upon entering. Wine, whiskey, beer, schnapps, and other drinks that probably tasted like horse piss lined the wall behind the bartender in various sizes of jugs. There were a couple of men situated at the bar on rickety wooden stools that stooped over their drink. They turned slowly to the light upon Caim and Leonard's entering, then returned to their previous position in the same fashion.

Leonard fumbled from behind Caim, groping the wall as he made his way across the floor. The general sighed as he ran into a support beam; this was going to be a long journey.

The mute general turned to the bartender and his filthy customer's snickering. "It seems your friend's gonna need a little help gitten' 'round," he stated, his voice think with a foreign accent, "Maybe we could git 'im a long'r stick?" Caim glared as the barkeeper and the drunken bums laughed and not too gently picked Leonard off of the ground. He didn't really want to be ridiculed for his unfortunate association with the blind man. The general led Leonard to the room they had rented by pulling the blind man along by his arm.

The hermit stumbled into the room as Caim shut the door and leaned against the wooden doorframe. "So Caim…" Leonard began as he felt the walls and made his way around the room. "Do you think we could possibly find another path? Maybe another post to get into the desert?"

Said mute glared and crossed his arms as Leonard found the bed and sat down upon it. After a few moments of silence, the hermit sighed. "I take your silence as a 'no'…" He lay down on his back and added, "We'll have to continue this until your dragon and the faerie get back… Trying to converse like this is too much for my tired mind…"

His scowl deepening, Caim left the room and, without paying any heed to the still snickering bartender, made his way outside. He surveyed the small town, saw that his horse was still there, and decided that a survey of the village would be suitable until the dragon got back. He just couldn't stand to be in the presence of that damn hermit one more second.

The children that had been playing in front of the inn earlier were now on the other side of the street, gaping at him as he walked down the few wooden steps that led up to the inn. One, the older-looking one, began to poke and prod the younger, and after a few moments of bantering, the younger relented and began to head cautiously towards Caim.

His eyebrow inclining, he let his head loll to the other side as he scrutinized the children. What could they possibly want with him?

…………

_They were everywhere. The black armor and red eyes proved enough of what power they belonged to, but the real question was how did so many seep into the castle unnoticed? Had they already killed every one of the soldiers stationed outside? One of the servants had just woken me from my sleep and alerted me to their presence, handing me my sword and breastplate as he did. I was barely dressed for battle; barefoot, a light undershirt under my hastily thrown on armor and a pair of pants, but there was no time to dress formally. Furiae was in danger._

_It had only been a couple of months since she was declared the goddess, a day that would haunt all of our memories. Yet, in this remote, almost powerless kingdom, how did they find us so quickly? Father expected them to catch on about six months from now… Could there be a traitor in our midst? _

_I rushed out into the main hallway, which, at the end, connected to the guest hall. There, I would be able to head to Furiae's room. Hopefully, she was still alive to be rescued. _

_My footsteps echoed through the silent hallways, eerily enough the only sound that reached my ears. How could it be so quiet in the middle of a battle? I turned into the guest hall and found my answer: the enemy was lying in wait for me. I took in a shaky breath; I had never experienced battle before, except for the sparring sessions Father and I had every now and then. I leveled my sword to the hundreds that were gathered before me, my hands shaking under the weight and from adrenaline. My stomach fell to my feet as I realized I was going to die here._

_I swallowed the swollen lump caught in my throat and charged blindly._

…………

Angelus flew lazily above the surrounding mountains and forests; she liked having her back bare again. Though she was a bit anxious about leaving her pact-partner behind -but only a little anxious- she knew that times like this, when she was free of the human burden, would be few and far between, so she needed to enjoy it while she could. Of course, the experience was hindered by the presence of an annoying little faerie.

"It isn't very nice to knock a friend out, you know!" he shouted at the dragon. Angelus snorted and flapped her mighty wings.

_"Thank you for the advice. I'll keep it in mind whenever I'm around friends."_ She turned her gaze down to the ground to see the forests abruptly stop and give way to a barren wasteland. Her golden eyes searched the scourged lands while her mind probed her pact-partner's mind for his location. Her eyes were immediately focused onto a small village, specifically at the entrance to a dilapidated structure that served as an inn. Angelus smirked as her pact-partner lifted his head and revealed his annoyed, grim expression.

She thought it rather peculiar that he seemed to be entertaining two children whilst sitting on the porch of the inn, and began to circle above him. _"I didn't know you liked children,"_ she stated cockily.

She felt the cold glare of his response, even though she was too far away to really see it. _I don't,_ he replied callously. The two children frolicked around him nonetheless, to which he sat as still as a statue. She was about to ask him why he insisted on putting up with them when she saw the blonde hermit emerge from the other side of the building. He lifted his head and, thankfully, the faerie dashed from her side to his.

"Oh, Leonard!" the pest cried, "she tried to kill me! She did, she did! Kill her, the awful, awful beast!"

Caim snorted. Served the little bastard right. He turned his head back to the dragon, who decided to land just outside the village's boundaries (which wasn't very far from him at all). As Leonard made his way towards Caim, said general stood and walked towards the dragon. The blind hermit didn't seem too upset by this.

The children now frightened off, the group of four could discuss their next course of action freely. Leonard began. "We weren't allowed through the barricade," he stated wearily. "I think we may have to find another way around to the desert."

Angelus felt the Caim human's anger and annoyance swell at Leonard's little status report and nudged the human in the back to calm him down. He glared angrily behind him to her, but she didn't pay attention to him. _"There is no other way," _she replied dignified. _"That barricade is the only way. I suppose that I will have to carry your carcasses over the wall, so that you don't have to unnecessarily shed blood, but it will slow us down." _She glanced around, taking in the bystanders that were scared stiff as they stared in horror at her, and snorted. _"We may as well move out now, so we can camp in the desert later tonight."_

Caim sighed. Now he had to share his spot on the dragon with Leonard? How revolting… He didn't hold back as he glared at Leonard as the hermit fumbled his way onto the dragon's back. He turned from the sight back to the entrance of the inn, where the horse was still tethered. A small smirk grew and he headed towards it.

A loud roar from behind stopped him. _"And where do you think YOU are going?" _she interrogated angrily. He didn't pause, however, and made his way to the horse again.

_Someone has to bring the horse, otherwise, you'll be carrying Leonard and me the entire way. _He paused for a response, but he only heard the steady low rumble of her growl. He shrugged and moved on. _I'll be fine on this; you just get the witless wonder over the barricade and wait for me._

A snarl, then, _"When I land in the desert, I will drop him off and then pick you up while that flea bag with hooves dangles from my jaws." _With that, she heaved herself into the air and headed towards the desert, while Caim mounted the horse. So, on a subliminal level, it was a race. The horse shifted eagerly under him as Caim watched the dragon's silhouette fade into the gray sky. He let the smirk grow into an all-out grin and kicked the horse, racing out into the wastelands.

…………

Wow, that chapter took SO LONG for me to write… none of it sounds right… and I kept on wanted to revert to first-person view once I got to the actual story narration. Booooo… I really don't like this one, but you guys have been waiting for a LONG-ASS time, so… meh. I actually wanted to end this chapter in a different place, but… I didn't wanna.

Last day of spring break sucks.

Ja.


	8. Insomnia

I am very sorry for the long absence, but I was on my deathbed for a few days, and after that, I couldn't stand to look at a computer screen because of nausea. So, I haven't written for about a week.

And I have to say, the music in the background of Caim's battle in D2 is BITCHIN'. The dramatic piano line suits him. I have the soundtrack and the first two tracks are my favorite, as well as track five and the City of Rust themes. I also managed to download the first part of the first game's soundtrack, but I can't seem to find the second.

Oh, and one more thing: if Legna really is Inuart's dragon, then does that mean Inuart was alive during the duration of the second drakengard?

_**Shadow of a Soldier**_

_**Chapter 8**_

_**Insomnia**_

The horse panted roughly under him as he pushed the beast onward and he allowed a trace of smirk when he managed to escape the dragon's shadow. He was winning the race. Caim saw the fort just up ahead, relishing the guards' hesitation at his fast and steady approach. The Union drew his sword and spanked the horse's rear with it, urging it onward. With a new burst of speed at his advantage, he pointed the sword's point at the heavy iron door that lay in his way.

The dragon's mind prodded his own mind in irritation. _"And what do you plan on doing? I'm supposed to pick you up right about now so you don't crash into the door."_

_And you'll kill the horse in the process, something I am trying to avoid,_ he replied calmly as he carefully aimed his sword at the door that was steadily growing closer. He heard the dragon scoff and a flurry of her wings fluttered above him.

_"I would never be that careless with my talons,"_ she answered haughtily. Caim shook his head slowly as he continued to aim; there was no way that he would allow the dragon to kill the horse. Leonard would have to ride with him if he did, and he wasn't quite ready to share his seat on the dragon with the pacifistic coward just yet. As he breached a small incline, he narrowed his gaze and summoned the fire held within his sword for an attack. Focusing the attack at the gap between the two doors where the bar that held them together was placed, he let loose the fireballs and hoped that he had aimed correctly.

Angelus sighed wearily as the human managed to break through the doors and, with astonishing speed, tore through the small battalion of soldiers that guarded the fort. The troops didn't even have time to load their bows by the time he was already out of range. She watched as he slowly erected from his low crouch on the horse and let said beast of burden slow down. He glanced up at her scarlet form with a victorious twinkle in his eye, to which she scoffed.

_"If you are done playing, we need to find your sister and Inuart." _She landed and took Leonard off her back by her jaws. Now that they were over the barricade, her pact-partner could dismount the unworthy beast he was currently on and be on her back, where he belonged. It's not that she had grown fond of the frail human, it was just that it was improper to have your pact-partner ride something else. _"Now, are we going to go or not?"_

The human sighed and dismounted the horse, flinching slightly when his feet returned to the sandy ground. He absently rubbed his side and then shoved Leonard in the direction of the horse. Angelus cocked her head at the subtle display of pain and asked, _"Is your side troubling you, human?"_

The Caim human brushed her question off with a wave of his hand and made his way to her. She suspected as he mounted her with uncharacteristic caution that his side wound was in fact hurting him, and with good reason; the wound would have been fatal if not for the human's pact with her. But why wouldn't he tell her? Was it to save whatever dignity he might have left? Or was it a manner of insipid pride? Either way, she didn't like the fact that he was hiding something like this from her. Angelus jarred her shoulder blades in order to attract his attention.

_"Your side IS bothering you, isn't it?" _She turned her crimson head to stare at him, to which his blue eyes flinched ever so slightly.

_My side is fine,_ he replied sternly as he rolled his shoulders; it seemed to her that it was a nervous habit and not attempting to stretch the muscles involved. _Besides, I thought you wanted us to get under way. I wouldn't want to slow you down._

The great scarlet dragon glared at her human counterpart. _"You getting treatment for your wound is not slowing us down in my mind. I'd rather have that than worry about you falling apart by the seams on the battlefield."_

He leaned back and let his gaze go to the barren landscape around them. Angelus waited for some kind of reply, but none came. She snarled irritably and launched herself into the warm sky, ready to find her way back to the goddess.

…………

_They were everywhere. The black armor and red eyes proved enough of what power they belonged to, but the real question was how did so many seep into the castle unnoticed? Had they already killed every one of the soldiers stationed outside? One of the servants had just woken me from my sleep and alerted me to their presence, handing me my sword and breastplate as he did. I was barely dressed for battle; barefoot, a light undershirt under my hastily thrown on armor and a pair of pants, but there was no time to dress formally. Furiae was in danger._

_It had only been a couple of months since she was declared the goddess, a day that would haunt all of our memories. Yet, in this remote, almost powerless kingdom, how did they find us so quickly? Father expected them to catch on about six months from now… Could there be a traitor in our midst? _

_I rushed out into the main hallway, which, at the end, connected to the guest hall. There, I would be able to head to Furiae's room. Hopefully, she was still alive to be rescued. _

_My footsteps echoed through the silent hallways, eerily enough the only sound that reached my ears. How could it be so quiet in the middle of a battle? I turned into the guest hall and found my answer: the enemy was lying in wait for me. I took in a shaky breath; I had never experienced battle before, except for the sparring sessions Father and I had every now and then. I leveled my sword to the hundreds that were gathered before me, my hands shaking under the weight and from adrenaline. My stomach fell to my feet as I realized I was going to die here._

_I swallowed the swollen lump caught in my throat and charged blindly._

_My sword easily plunged into each soldier's body. Blood continually sprayed me in the face, and their cries for mercy and shrieks of pain, at first, bombarded my ears. But the feelings of dread and fear quickly abated to something else: a yearning to keep killing. A beast, a monster, a demon… any of those words would describe what I became that day. _

_Every soldier that came within my line of sight died, even the ones that had come to help me. But in my fury, I couldn't see who was friend and who was foe. All that drove me was the need to kill, and nothing, not even pain could have stopped me while there were still people left to kill. _

_Finally, the last soldier fell; his red eyes slowly glazing over and going out of focus as I stood over him, triumphant. Panting, I turned quickly around in some hope that another soldier was there, so that I may lay waste to him as well, but, to my dismay, there were none. I turned my gaze down to the floor where the corpses lay and smiled. I had done this. My sword killed them all. The grin grew as I played with the thought of killing more. _

_My heart jumped in fervor at the echo of coming footfalls to my right. In my altered vision, I only saw the figure, the red hair, and the lance-like longsword in the man's right hand. The grin grew once more, and I obeyed the monster's command to kill the man in front of me. As I rushed out to the man, he said something, but my ears no longer worked for the purpose of hearing meaningless words. They were only there so that I may enjoy my victims' screams. _

_My sword came down hard on the man, but he blocked the blow with his own sword. He yelled something again, but I didn't listen. Why should I? He was about to die anyway. I kicked him in the shin and down he fell, letting a yelp of pain escape his lips. I twirled my sword absently as I circled the man on the ground, his face and side covered in the blood of my earlier victims. Raising the sword in my hand, I prepared to plunge it into the man's neck; I wanted to savor the gargling noises he would make as he choked on his own blood. _

_However, as I plunged the sword down, he swiped at my hand, thus making me lose my grip on my sword. But he was sadly mistaken if he thought I needed the weapon in order to kill. I pounced on the man, letting my gloved hands encircle his neck and I tightened my grip. I was a bit dismayed that I wouldn't be able to hear his death quite as clearly, but I would be able to see the moment in which he died. That would have to be enough._

_Then, more footsteps. I turned to see not the outline of not a man with a weapon, but a frail girl… I blinked a few times as my vision corrected and the fuzzy outline sharpened to the image of my sister. I gasped. Furiae…!_

_Suddenly, the weight from what I had done besieged my mind; the bodies all with their horrified faces still looking at me. The stench of their repugnant blood overwhelmed my senses, and suddenly, bile welled up in my throat. A weak hit on my armored arm brought me back to the last man in the room, and, to my horror, Inuart's now purple face stared up at me, terrified. _

_My hands automatically let go of my friend's neck and I recoiled from his recumbent form. Furiae ran to Inuart, helping him sit up as he coughed and hacked now that his lungs were allowed to breathe. He rubbed his neck and looked at me, the same horrified stares that were plastered on all of the corpses around me was mirrored on his face. _

_"Why did you…" he began, his voice hoarse. "Why did…"_

_I could only shake my head as I slowly searched the bloodied bodies that surrounded me. Why couldn't I see that I was attacking Inuart? What had happened to me? I looked to my left to see a corpse gaping at me, his eyes wild and mouth open in a silent scream. The bile came up again, but I swallowed it back down. _

_What had I done…?_

…………

Caim opened his eyes to see the starry night sky above him. He glanced to his right, where he could see the dragon's head, to make sure she was asleep. When he settled for the fact that she was, he pushed himself off of her side and rubbed his aching back. It would take some time before he could ever get used to sleeping on her hardened hide.

Standing, he attempted to erase the memory that plagued him relentlessly. Those faces… The smell, the taste of copper in his mouth… He shook his head to relieve himself of those sensations, but they never fully disappeared. For the moment, however, they retreated back to the recesses of his mind.

He flinched when he heard a low rumble behind him. _"You're going to be rather useless on the battlefield if you don't rest."_

_According to you, I'm already useless,_ he retorted as he glanced over his shoulder to the dragon. Her form bathed in moonlight, she seemed to him more of a spirit than a dragon. She looked ethereal. He mentally kicked himself; now was not the time to be thinking of the damn overgrown, fire breathing bat like that. The Union general scoffed at himself and walked towards the dead fire. Leonard and the faerie were asleep, and the horse tethered to a rare, leaning tree. As the nameless faces of his first kills flashed in his mind, he asked without emotion, …_What do you want?_

Angelus righted herself a little more. Something was obviously bothering the human; he hadn't slept right since she met him. Was this a product of living during war or… something else? _"To know what plagues you so that I may get rid of it so you may sleep. I already told you, I don't want your state hindered in any way. No more stupidity on your part."_

She heard him scoff again and he kicked a white coal into Leonard's face. The hermit mumbled something incoherent, but did not wake. _Insomnia,_ he replied, his mental voice stoic and apathetic. The red dragon cocked her head and growled.

_"That's quite a case you have, Human…"_ she answered sagely. _"…for it's been harassing you ever since we met."_

Angelus felt his irritation radiate from him through their psychic link. _Shut up,_ he demanded harshly, _I don't need to know how bad it is from your big mouth; I'm already well aware._

Angelus let a smirk lift her draconian lips as she raised her tail a little. _"Maybe I could help?"_ The Caim human turned to her in question, saw the tail and then walked a few paces away from her.

_I doubt pummeling me out of my senses every night will help my health any more than lacking sleep,_ he grumbled. He made his way to a smooth rock that was bathed in the full moonlight and sat down wearily. He sighed; he knew that his insomnia would have nothing to do with his fighting capabilities; his involuntary blood lust would supply him with all the strength and energy he would ever need. It was just after the battle was over was he worried…

His thoughts turned back to the dragon as he heard the thumping of her feet and wing thumbs on the ground: she was walking toward him. However, he paid no attention to her as she made her way to his side and stared blankly at the full moon. What she wanted to say to him wouldn't matter anyway.

Angelus nudged the human's shoulder with her horned snout. _"I suggest we fly for a bit. It might calm you."_

The Caim human scoffed. _What, you really think that flying on YOU is relaxing? I distinctly remember you trying to throw me off multiple times, and that's far from relaxing._

_"I won't try to throw you off,"_ Angelus supplied. _"I'll simply fly."_

Though his head did not move from its position, his blue eyes shifted to glare at her from beneath his dark bangs. _No loops?_

_"No loops."_

_No flips?_

_"No flips."_

_No sudden dives?_

_"No dives, sudden or expected."_

_No you plucking me off of your back and throwing me down at the ground from three thousand feet?_

_"You deserved that."_

_I did not; but answer the question, Dragon._

Angelus rolled her amber eyes. Was taking care of a human -an adult, even- really this difficult? _"I swear I will not intentionally do anything that would endanger you. This flight is, after all, for your benefit. Why would I jeopardize that?"_

The human's glare narrowed. _Because you're a sadistic old bat._

Her eye twitched at the Caim human's response. Though she did take great pleasure in the fact that she could simply toss him off her back if he annoyed her, she would never let him hit the ground if she could help it. She sighed and then picked the human up by his shirt and placed him not too gently in his place on her back. _"I'm tired of this conversation, let's just go."_

Caim knew it was useless to demand that she put him down, so he just let her take him into the star-mottled sky. Once she leveled out, he sat stubbornly on her back, arms crossed and frown sternly in place. _What are we supposed to do now?_ he inquired harshly.

The dragon turned her head towards him, her amber eyes glowing even more due to the moonlight. _"You fall asleep, of course. I thought we already went over this part."_

_I'm not going to fall asleep because I'm in the sky. Insomnia can't be overridden by a few minutes in the air._

_"Then we'll fly until you fall asleep," _she replied, her tone stern and motherly. _"I will not be beaten on the battlefield by your sleeping disorder."_

Caim sighed and uncrossed his arms. It was obvious the dragon wasn't going to give up soon, so he may as well try to sleep. But every time he did, the faces would appear and he would wake up with blood in his mouth and lungs, suffocating him. How could he ever sleep when he knew that was what awaited him?

The Union general leaned back on his hands and let his head loll back. He liked the wind on his face and the feeling of weightlessness, but he could achieve the same sensations on a horse. What could the dragon do besides breathe fire and be a wise ass that a horse could not? Flying was the same as running, except flying was smoother and performed in the air. But it still accomplished the same tasks as running. It got you from point A to point B.

For the first time in a while, the dragon spoke. _"No wonder you can't sleep: your mind never shuts up. Stop making your mind run and relax." _She turned her head toward him again. _"You do know how to relax, yes?"_

Caim sneered. _Of course I do._

The dragon scoffed and turned her head back to the front. _"Not from what I can tell." _She ignored his curses and slowly began turning; she did not want to stray too far from the camp. When she righted herself, she stated, _"Just let yourself be hypnotized by the rhythm of my wing beats. That'll put you to sleep."_

She glanced over her shoulder to see the human's moonlit face let an eyebrow incline. _How the hell are wing beats supposed to put me to sleep? That's almost as ridiculous as the time when Inuart told me that the books in my father's library were all written by trolls._

Angelus let the nonsensical remark roll and she sighed. _"Just lean on my back with your stomach and face against my neck. That should be comfortable."_

She heard him grumble and after a few moments of sulking, she felt his hands placed onto the base of her neck, and then what felt like the rest of his torso followed. _There. I'm lying down on your back. Satisfied?_

_"No, you're not asleep yet."_

_This is ludicrous! _She felt his weight shift back to where it normally was during battle; he had sat up. _I'm not going to fall asleep like this, Dragon, you're wasting both of our time._

She turned her great head back to him and snarled. _"Would you rather be knocked out every night until you do manage to sleep properly? Because I will do it."_

_I have no doubt about that,_ the Caim human retorted angrily, _but either way, this is not going to get me to sleep. Just put me back onto the ground so I can try again._

Angelus glared. _"My giant scarlet ass you'll try again. No, I won't land until you fall asleep. Try again."_

Caim seethed as the dragon turned her head back to the front and shifted her wings to turn. He hated the way she commanded him, jerked him around… but what choice did he have? She was the one who could pluck him off of the safe ground and into the air and then let him dangle precariously from her jaws or talons. She was the one who could kill him a hundred times over, every time a different way, and the only thing that stopped her was that if he died, so did she. He could only hold that over her a few times before she found a way around it.

Finally, he sighed and lay back down on the dragon's warm, moonlit hide. He may as well try to fall asleep. Gods knew he wouldn't get out of this situation until he did, whether it be naturally or by the dragon's tail. He took in a deep breath and tried to let his body "relax" so that sleep could creep into his system.

Angelus let a triumphant smile emerge on her scarlet face as she felt his weight shift and he lay down onto her neck. Now, if she could get him to sleep, this would truly be a good night.

A thought occurred to her as she slowly turned to keep circling the camp. Why had she tried so hard to get him to sleep on his own? It was much easier -and somewhat stress relieving- to merely whack him on the head and be done with it. No complaining, no stubborn attitude to deal with… What was she trying to accomplish? …Was she actually trying to befriend him?

A cough suddenly attacked her lungs and she choked on her own air. Befriend? A human? A rotten, bloodthirsty, raving mad lunatic human who would rather slay an entire army than speak with his sister? Granted, he could no longer speak, but if he was given the choice… She shook her head slowly. No, she couldn't be trying to befriend him. What would the point be in that? There wasn't. There simply wasn't a reason to befriend him, and there was no possible way that she would do something that utterly pointless. She was a dragon, and dragons never did anything menial.

Angelus sighed. With this new point of view, she suddenly wanted to go back to the ground, even if she had to deal with the human's smart-ass remarks. Defeatedly, she turned her head back to the human on her back. _"Human, you win… I…Human…?"_

She didn't receive a reply, because simply, he had fallen asleep. His arms had gone limp and dangled on either side of her broad neck, his legs the same. His head was propped up against her facing his left, and by the soft light of the full moon, she saw his closed eyes and peaceful expression. The dragon laughed softly to herself. It had worked after all.

Fearing he was a light sleeper and not wanting to wake him by a rough landing, she flew on, letting the air currents take her where they liked. She didn't mind being his floating pillow for the night.

…………

What? It's done? The hell?

Wow, I'm sorry for the absence. But as I explained to one of you reviewers -can't remember which one- every time I tried to write, it ended up as poop. So, I simply didn't write until I felt ready for it. Well, it only matters that I got it up.

Sorry, guys.

Ja!


	9. To the Dungeon

I love the little scene in D2 when you have to go into Manah's mind and stuff… The little scene with Caim… It made me so happy to see him in his old armor again. :heart:

Scary as it is, I am now a part of society. I am graduated, and looking -somewhat fruitlessly right now- for a job. Wo0t. I need money so I buy more stuff and put gas in my thirsty, thirsty Jimmy. (My truck.) It gets nine miles to the gallon. Nine. 09. Neun.

Well, I had to go through "the part" again during my second playthrough… I managed not to get teary-eyed, but… I was damn close! …I'm such a nerd.

_**Shadow of a Soldier**_

_**Chapter 9**_

_**To the Dungeon**_

Caim awoke to the soft dim light of an early morning dawn as the wind gently tossed his hair and loose clothes about him. Sleepily, he blinked his eyes a couple of times and lazily surveyed his surroundings without having to move his head. Where he thought he should see the inside of a tent, he saw nothing but gray, clouded skies. Where the hell was he? When he looked down, he saw the hard, red scales of the dragon, and his memory came rushing back to him in a flash. _That's right,_ he recalled somewhat dazed, …_the dragon…_ He pushed himself up and rubbed his eyes with his gloved hands.

_"Finally awake?"_ he heard the dragon ask cheerfully. Caim mentally groaned. Whenever the dragon was in a good mood, there was no way he would be. _"You slept longer and deeper than I suspected. Perhaps this night flying should be a reoccurring event? I wouldn't mind."_

The Union general yawned and replied grumpily, _No. Now I have an ass cramp, thanks to your wonderfully magnanimous gesture and to be honest, I'd rather stay on the ground as much as I possibly can. _He paused as he looked down to the distant ground, where he could make out the fuzzy silhouette of Leonard on his horse running below. …_You've been flying this entire time?_

_"Yes,"_ the dragon replied as she turned her grand head to face him. _"I feared you were a light sleeper and I didn't want to spoil my victory by waking you up as I landed. Why do you ask?"_

The general cocked his head to the side. _Don't you need to sleep as well?_

The dragon snorted, causing a few small tongues of flame to escape her maw. _"Don't be ridiculous. I do not need sleep as often as you; I'll be fine for a couple of days before my body begins to tire." _She glanced at her pact-partner, her golden eyes glistening with mischief. _"Unlike SOME certain weak, bloodthirsty, savage, worthless species…"_

Caim sneered at her for lack of a proper comeback, crossing his arms as he did. Now he was indebted to the dragon. Spectacular. She could hold this over his head many, many times and still use it as a proper argument without it getting tiresome -to her at least. Especially since he hadn't been able to get over his sleeping disorder on his own, even when he still lived in his own castle. He rubbed the small of his aching back as his frown grew on his face. How could he possibly get her back?

Angelus turned her head back to the front, quite pleased with herself. The Caim human knew that he owed her, and she could use this to her advantage. The question was when, though. She let a warm growl rumble through her chest as her mind turned over the pleasing thought. She didn't have to use it right away. It was one of those arguments that could be utilized at any time. She let her gaze fall to the hermit and horse below, and her dragon lips quirked into a strange reptilian grin. Maybe she could eat the stallion now and get away with it.

Then, a voice began to creep into her mind. She lifted her head to listen, but the voice faded back before she could decipher the message. It wasn't Verdelet… His voice was much stronger than that, and she sensed that the owner was female. A new set of pact-partners? Her golden gaze went to the flat horizon, where the Desert Seal awaited them. It sounded as if it came from there…

_And what is it that has captured your attention so?_ The Caim human asked grimly. Angelus growled and glanced over her shoulder.

_"A new voice has wormed its way into my mind. It may be another set of pact-partners."_ As she turned slightly to look at her pact-partner to gauge his response, he leaned back on his hands.

_A new voice? Are you sure it's not Verdelet?_

She shook her great head and replied, _"I'm sure of it. Verdelet's sounds… different… from this one. I think its owner is female."_

She saw him cock an eyebrow and looked off to his right. When he didn't comment for a moment, Angelus returned her gaze back to the front. She didn't care what the human had to say on the matter anyway. She was rather eager to distract the hermit with more company, but on the other hand, she didn't favor the idea of more possible liabilities. It was much simpler to destroy the Empire by herself -with some help from her human counterpart, unfortunately- and be done with it. With more people, things grew complicated…

Suddenly, she felt a hard pounding on her neck: the human was punching her hide again. _Dragon!_ he shouted frantically in her mind -which startled her since it was so out of character for him- as he continued to punch her. _Land! Land on the ground right now! I see Furiae!_

Angelus, suspicious of her pact-partner's claim since human eyes were easily tricked, glanced down at the large rock formations that littered the desert. On one formation in particular was a small, white figure that aimlessly wandered about her surroundings. Angelus knew by the figure's mental presence that it was indeed the Goddess. She scoffed as she began to circle her landing site; maybe the human's eyes were better than she realized? Or perhaps he just knew his sister's form? Either way, his eyes had caught a detail that hers had not, and it annoyed her. How could she not have seen the Goddess?

She obliged the human's demands by circling slowly down above the Goddess, earning a concerned look from said woman. As Angelus hovered in the air for a moment to place her feet on the ground, the Caim human jumped off of her back impatiently and ran to his sister. The Goddess, upon seeing her brother, let a relieved smile emerge on her face. Angelus shifted uncomfortably as they embraced; she was not sure of what to do among humans that were caught up in their own world. As she watched the siblings, she saw a gleam in the Goddess' eyes, one of love and devotion. Angelus' eyes narrowed. The love she saw in the wearied blue eyes of the Goddess was different from that of a sister's love for a brother.

Cocking her head to listen, Angelus picked up not words from the Goddess' mind, but feelings and emotions. Without the aid of a pact, that was all Angelus could detect. However, it was all she needed. There was no subtlety in her affection. Love was there, but a romantic love, a love that existed between lovers, accompanied with a yearning for her brother to hold her, and a hint of desire. She snorted in amusement as she stopped listening. So, the Goddess was in love with her brother?

She looked at the Caim human as he checked her over for any sign of injury. It seemed he didn't return her feelings or didn't even know about them. Though that didn't come as a great shock to her, Angelus was a bit concerned for the Goddess' mental welfare. Surely an infatuation with a family member, however subtle to outsiders' eyes, would put even more strain on the Goddess. The dragon leaned back on her haunches. If the Goddess didn't want the Caim human to know, then it would be rude for her, an outsider in this matter, to meddle with the situation. So, she merely watched as the two interacted.

"Caim," the Goddess almost whispered, "thank goodness you're safe." Her bright azure eyes gazed up at her brother's in awe and bliss. Angelus shifted on her haunches again; she wasn't sure if she liked her pact-partner's sister looking at him like that whether the Caim human knew his sister's true feelings or not.

The dragon felt as if she needed to be the one to address the business at hand. _"What of Inuart and Verdelet, were they taken?"_

The Goddess turned slowly away from them, a shadow coming over her pale face. "Yes…" she began softly, "…to protect me."

The Caim human turned abruptly to the scarlet dragon. _There's no way Verdelet, much less Inuart, would have left her here unprotected unless they knew they were going to be coming back for her soon. Perhaps they were captured near here?_

_"So the dungeon must be close…"_ Angelus mused as she turned the situation over in her mind. _"Break through and we may find them."_

The Caim human turned back to his sister, taking a step towards her and leaning over to see her face. The Goddess smiled at his concern and placed a frail, pale hand on his armored shoulder. "I will be safe… I am a Goddess after all. Please, Caim, you must save Inuart and Verdelet."

The soldier hesitantly shifted his weight towards Angelus. _Will she really be okay here, by herself? Should we leave the witless wonder with her just in case?_

Angelus liked the idea of leaving the hermit -and the horse- behind. They couldn't bring the Goddess with them; that would put her in more danger than leaving her there. Yes, Leonard and his annoying green mosquito would be most useful out of her and her pact-partner's way. _"Leonard,"_ she began stoically, _stay here with the Goddess. I fear for her safety if she's here alone. You could offer some protection."_

Leonard nodded and dismounted the black stallion. "I will do my best to defend the Goddess, my Lady Dragon, even if it takes my life." He bowed, and went to the Goddess' side with the help of said woman. The Caim human made his way to Angelus and reluctantly mounted her crimson back.

…………

It was night by the time they reached an area near the gaol where Verdelet's voice was emanating from. The full moon shed some light onto the far ground below, but the dragon could barely see a mile in front of her in the midnight sky. The human had dozed off a few hours ago, but she didn't mind. At least he was getting more sleep.

Suddenly, the tailwind that had been aiding her speed changed into a full-fledged headwind and the stench of griffins invaded her nostrils. They were shockingly close and she banked to the side as she smelt one dive at her.

_"Human! Awake! There are vermin in the sky, and it would be good if you didn't fall off my back as you dream. Awake!"_ She found that he didn't need much coaxing; she felt his mind rouse almost immediately after she spoke. His weight shifted, and she felt his hands fall back to the base of her neck for balance, though they felt lighter than usual; perhaps he was getting more used to flying with her that he only needed to put his hands down for a little bit of balance. That fact in and of itself was more than a little promising.

She threw a fireball into the darkness, only for it to merely graze the feathered side of a griffin. She snarled in frustration. _"This darkness! I cannot see who is foe and who is friend."_ After a moment's pause, she added sarcastically, _"Does that matter to you?"_

Caim brushed off that last little comment and retorted, _Who would be our "friend" up here? There's nothing else other than other griffins and possibly more Empire-related foes. _He paused as pictures of Inuart and Furiae shoved their way forward, demanding his attention. Were they all right? After the griffins were gone and a horde of stone heads was spotted, the dragon turned her attention back to him.

Angelus stealthily read her pact-partner's thoughts and smirked. He was thinking of his dear sister and childhood friend, eh? With her newly obtained knowledge about the two in question, the Goddess in particular, she couldn't help but laugh. The Caim human, seemingly caught off-guard by her sudden burst of laughter, crossed his arms and narrowed his gaze.

_What could you possibly be laughing about?_

Angelus snorted and thought a cryptic answer would suit him best. After all, it was not her place to reveal someone else's feelings. _"Inuart strives, yet can hope for no reward. The fool plays at love alone."_

Caim's mind stopped for a moment, unsure of what to do. What had she just said? …_What? Are you suggesting that Furiae loves someone else?_ Angelus stumbled a bit when her pact-partner's sudden blast of hate and disgust towards her washed over her mind. The dragon was startled, to say the least, that the human felt so strongly about his sister's faithfulness. _Furiae has, and always will, hold love for Inuart. Don't think of yourself so high and mighty, Dragon, that you can read into their feelings so well. You know nothing of them._

She couldn't help but smirk. The human's emotions were throbbing with anger at her. It seemed she had touched a nerve. _"The three of you… have you grown so accustomed to denying the truth?"_

Angelus turned her head to see the human once the hordes of stone heads were gone to see the human's face. His dark blue eyes were almost glowing with disdain, while his mouth was set in a stern snarl. His right hand had gone to the hilt of his sword while the other stayed on her hide for balance. His response was so quiet, she barely heard him say it. _You tread on dangerous ground, Dragon._

Angelus snarled right back. She didn't like the human taking such a commanding tone with her, even if she happened to be making him uncomfortable. He would just have to deal with it now that they were pact-partners. _"Caim, can you sense your sister's thoughts? The passions of her soul?"_

When Caim didn't respond for a moment, she jarred her shoulders to indicate that she wanted an answer. He glared at her for a moment, then broke their eye contact by looking to his right. Angelus sighed and continued to fight the hordes of stone heads. Were all humans like this? Overreacting morons that wanted to be ignorant and blind of the truth?

After all the enemies were cleared from the darkened sky, Angelus heard the Caim human's voice. _Is Verdelet down there?_

She looked down to the ground and saw that they were hovering over the gaol that they had been trying to find. She let out a sigh of relief. _"Yes, there is no doubt. Verdelet is here."_

…………

Well, I finally finished! Wo0t. I am happy because I got the first Drakengard's artbook, and it is SOOOO pretty! I LOVE IT! So much prettiness in that book! Of course, it would be a lot better if it was in a language that I understood, but that's okay. I like to be able to see everyone's name in Japanese. Oh, and the artbook has made my gender choice of the faerie official: I really, REALLY think it's a boy. But oh, there's this one picture in there with Caim, Inuart and Furiae sitting together looking happy (Caim looking HAPPY? And NOT in a psycho way? OH-EM-GEE!) with Angelus in all her glory laying her head behind Caim. IT'S SO COOL! It was worth $30.

Wow, what a rant. Anywho, thanks for reading! Sorry for any bad sentence structures or other typos!

Ja!


	10. Regret

It's official. My VCR hates me. You see, in order to cut down the stress on my beloved PS2, I recorded everything, including me fighting through the missions, on a cassette tape so that I could merely pause and rewind everything I needed. I can do that because the PS2 stuff is hooked into the VCR and not the actual TV. Ain't that clever? Anyway, I was going through the event thing where Inuart goes crazy and… well, let's just say I'm going to give the old thing a little rest for now.

I watched the event thing, "to drink poison" I think it's called, where Caim kicks Leonard and then backhands him. I love it. I smiled and hugged the TV the first time I saw it.

Good Lord, I'm a nerd.

_**Shadow of a Soldier**_

_**Chapter 10**_

_**Regret **_

Caim hated the entire situation: the dragon's attitude towards Furiae, towards Inuart, towards the two's relationship. What could the damn, scaly bat know that he didn't? She didn't grow up with them. She didn't know them like he did. Furiae was absolutely committed to Inuart, even though they couldn't marry, and the same went for Inuart and his affections for Furiae. They loved each other. He sighed in frustration. And no matter how many times he could tell that to the dragon, she wouldn't listen. Damn stubborn, short-sighted, narrow-minded…

_"Human, I'm afraid we're not alone,"_ he heard the dragon mutter under her breath. _"It seems the Empire has placed guards around this place."_

The Union general let a smirk come across his face. At least now there was a way to relieve himself of some stress. Without the dragon telling him whether it was safe to dismount or not, he jumped off her side and into the cool, loose sand. Withdrawing his sword from its sheath on his back, he smiled as the bloodlust began to reappear. His menacing sneer grew onto the border of insanity as he spotted a small battalion thirty yards away from his current standing point. They would be the first to die.

Angelus snarled as she felt his mind change once again from slightly civilized Union lord to a savage beast. The change had been quicker than she thought; she had wanted to see if she could have stopped it, but it seemed she didn't make her move in time. She hovered in the air as her human counterpart ran out to the first group of Empire soldiers and mercilessly sliced through them. She would think his condition interesting, if not amusing, had she been unrelated to him. But now that his survival was linked to her own, she felt the need to put an end to it.

She flew ahead to find the exact building that this hierarch was trapped in. The closer it seemed she got to the gaol, the more Imperial soldiers she found. Was there no end to them? She dropped a few fireballs into the hearts of the bigger throngs, but as soon as she did, she heard a cry of protest from her pact-partner.

_NO!_ he cried, _Leave them to me! I want to kill them all! I want their blood on my blade! _Angelus hesitated for only a moment before wiping out the archers that were trying to close in on her.

_"Can you actually speak now?"_ she asked sarcastically, _"Is your mind no longer that of a lowly, bloodthirsty beast?"_ The answer from his mind was the same message, except that now it was no longer voice by mere words, but by the raw emotions from his soul. The scarlet dragon scoffed as she made her way around the gaol. _"Foolish human. You succumb to your bloodlust too easily. You cannot kill all of the Empire's soldiers all by yourself; even you, an ignorant human must adhere to that. Or is this attitude merely a psychotic death wish?"_

Angelus searched his mind for an answer, but apparently, he wasn't listening anymore. His mind had exploded in rapture and a yearning for more and more Imperial blood. The scarlet dragon snarled again. This was a repeat of the elf village's battle. Disgusted, she turned and began killing off troops herself. She half-expected him to try and stop her once again, but it seemed that the Caim human was too absorbed in his own killings that he didn't even notice.

Suddenly, Verdelet's voice was vibrating in her mind. _"I am the hierarch Verdelet, imprisoned by the Empire. Can anyone hear me? Can anyone hear me!"_ Angelus stopped in midair for a moment.

_"This voice… is it Verdelet?"_ she asked herself -since the Caim human wasn't listening to her anyway- and turned towards the gaol. _"Verdelet, can you hear me? Is Inuart with you?"_

There was a moment before his reply. _"Who is this? If I can hear your voice, then you too have a pact?"_

_"I am a dragon, Human,"_ she replied with a snarl in her voice. The small, insignificant faith in humanity she held before this had been demolished by the Caim's reckless bloodlust. She found it revolting for someone to mistake her voice for a lowly human's. _"That is all you need to know. Is Inuart with you?" _She heard a sigh in his mental voice.

_"My apologies… Inuart was taken to a different prison. I pray that he is unharmed."_ She growled in her frustration. So they would have to look elsewhere for this Inuart human. How unfortunate. But at least they had found one of the two. Angelus looked behind her to see that there were only scattered living soldiers around the gaol now; the Caim human had finished off all of the rest. Carcasses littered the now crimson desert sand. Her pact-partner was standing in the middle of his most recent group of victims, panting heavily. Angelus prodded his mind.

_"Are you civil now?" _she inquired with disdain dripping from her words. _"Because I have found Verdelet, and I would rather you not kill him in your blind rage."_

A moment passed, and then she felt the Caim human's mind return to normal. She saw him nod his head and then made his way to her by the gaol. _Yes…_ he replied without emotion. Angelus cocked her head. There was a hint of something in his demeanor as he trudged up to the gaol's entrance, where Verdelet was now standing. It wasn't victory, or pride. His shoulders were slumped, and his feet were heavy. Was it regret? Or was she merely mistaking exhaustion for it?

Caim treaded up the small incline to the gaol entrance that was now cleared out due to his -and the dragon's- efforts. A few Union soldiers were standing guard outside it, which surprised him. When had the Union soldiers gotten there? A small frown appeared on his pale, blood spattered face. Had he killed a few of them in the process of clearing out the Empire? One particular soldier came running up to him, gaunt and out of breath. "I thought we were done for!" he cried, his voice full of relief and gratitude. "Thank you!"

Caim shrugged it off and kept going, his sword -now dripping with blood- still in his gloved hand. The soldier, undaunted by Caim's obvious want to be left alone, trotted to catch up to the general. "Sir Caim? Is that you?" The soldier's reply was a momentary glare. The soldier continued. "We've heard about you from the prisoners that are under your command. That you don't give mercy to any Empire soldier, that you'll dominate the Empire all by yourself." He looked his superior officer up and down. "You are younger than I thought."

Sighing, Caim pushed the soldier aside and ascended the steps to the gaol entrance two at a time. An old man with the tattoo of a pact branded on his bald scalp was standing there in black and silver robes, robes of a heirarch. As Caim reached the old man, he took in the old man's appearance. So this was Verdelet? In respect for the old man's position, Caim bowed deeply.

The dragon seemed to be amused by this. _"I didn't know you had the capacity to bow, Human. You surprise me again."_ Caim glared at her over his shoulder before he erected from the bow. Verdelet didn't seem to hear the dragon's comment and spoke.

"At last…" the hierarch began dramatically. "So you are Caim."

The dragon, who was standing on the sand behind Caim, growled before speaking. _"Verdelet, you know something. Tell us, what is happening?"_

Verdelet bowed to her before replying. "The Empire is not satisfied with mere conquest. They seek complete reconstruction."

Caim's eyebrow cocked and the dragon snorted behind him. _"Of the world?" _she asked.

Verdelet's reply was weary. "Yes. They want the Seeds of Resurrection that appear when the Seals are broken. The Goddess' life is in great danger."

Caim's brow furrowed at the hierarch's reply. He had only heard small details about the Seeds: mostly old wife tales and bedtime stories, nothing that presented any real threat. Only that a vague description of their appearance meant that the world was ending.

However, the dragon seemed to know what the old man was talking about. _"The Seeds of Resurrection?" _she asked incredulously. She turned away from them, disgusted once more with humanity. _"Humans twist even the myths to their own purposes."_

The old man took a step towards Caim, hands out and pleading. "Please help!" he cried. "The Empire must not destroy these holy places. The entire world is in danger! As each Seal is broken, the burden on the Goddess grows greater still!"

Caim needed no boost for morale. He was motivated enough with revenge for his parents and his sister. As a tiny bit of bloodlust bubbled to the surface at the mere thought of battle, Caim raised his sword, silently swearing death to each and every Imperial soldier that came within the reach of his arm. He felt the dragon's disdain at his apparent warmongering, and the old man's eyes grew with fear.

"Please!" Verdelet cried, "Even the Empire's soldiers deserve our mercy!" At this, Caim scoffed and swiped his bloodstained sword back down.

_Coward,_ Caim snarled softly. The dragon growled as he turned towards her.

_"You should show some respect to him,"_ the dragon chastised. _"Isn't he your superior?"_

The general scoffed. _In name only. He's a useless old man. Another liability._

_"You cannot preach to this one,"_ the dragon stated with a hint of disgust in her voice as she turned her attention back to Verdelet. _"He cares only for… settling old grudges." _For a moment, the two pact-partners faced each other and glared. After the brief instant, Caim broke the eye contact by shaking his head and slowly walking down the steps. Verdelet sank to his knees and clasped his withered old hands.

"May the Gods bless us, their poor children." Caim stopped to look back at the old man. He scoffed. As far as Caim knew, the Gods were dead. He turned back to the dragon and stated, _Praying won't help him when Imperial soldiers are about to decapitate him. He should learn how to wield that staff of his like a weapon, not a walking stick._

The dragon shifted on her haunches as she stared at her pact-partner with her glowing yellow eyes. _"What difference between he who prays and he who kills? Fools, one and all, these humans."_ After another bout of glaring between the two, Caim finally relented and crawled onto her back. Verdelet took a spotted grey horse -with another white steed tied to Verdelet's for Furiae- that had been brought out of the stables of the gaol and made their way to the Desert Seal.

…………

Inuart opened his eyes slowly, wincing as the pain blasted him awake. His arms were chained to the ends of some kind of cross, and his feet were chained together below. His armor and sword had been stripped off of him, leaving only his casual wear on him. He glanced around lethargically, though that didn't help him decipher exactly where he was much. There was a small beam of light in front of him, but that only revealed a dirty stone floor and something that looked like a carcass in the shadows. He grimaced. Where was he? Where was Verdelet? …Had Furiae been captured as well?

"Is anyone there?" he called out. He mentally kicked himself. Never had he heard his own voice sound so weak and frail. If Caim were there with him, he would hear no end to the jeers and insults. Inuart scoffed. That is, had Caim been able to talk.

Suddenly, a monotone, deep and masculine voice sounded. **If only I had more strength, I could protect Furiae.**

Inuart's head jolted up at the sound. "Who's there?" he cried.

The voice made no answer to his question. **I could protect her and make her my own.**

Inuart's heart missed a beat as he realized what was going on. This… this voice was somehow reading his thoughts! No! "Stop it!" he wailed again.

The voice did not relent. **Take her in my arms. Surrender her to no man, my betrothed. She shall love only me.**

"Please stop!" Inuart screamed. He didn't want to hear it. He couldn't bear to hear it. He wasn't strong enough to face those dreadful thoughts and feelings yet.

**All mine, Furiae. All mine. All mine. All mine. No man can have her. No man. Not even Caim.**

"No! No more!" The pain of knowledge welled up inside Inuart's weak and fragile heart. Why wouldn't the voice stop? What could it possibly want?

**Loves only me, looks only to me. Holds only me. Furiae. Loves only me. Me. Me.**

"Uhn…" How could he think such horrible things? How could he be such a terrible, horrible person? How could he allow such thoughts and feelings to enter his soul and bury themselves in it? Tears began to trail down his face as regret and fear of himself seeped into his soul. If Caim knew what he felt… knew the jealousy that controlled his feeble mind, would he be disgusted? Disappointed? What would Furiae think?

The voice picked up on Inuart's change of thought. **Forgive me. Deeply. Deeply. Please forgive me.** No longer able to take the pain of his raw and foremost emotions, Inuart let out a long, anguished cry that echoed throughout his hollow prison. As he screamed, the voice kept going. **Gaze only on me, please. Gaze upon me.**

Inuart let his head go limp and fall against his chest. Tears were now flowing out like streams, and as they fell, they created a small semi-circle of wet drops around Inuart's cross. He couldn't take anymore. But what could he do? He was too weak...

**The Goddess will die. **His head lifted at this lone statement. What?

**The one who serves as the Seal must be killed by the strain. The burden will destroy her. **

Inuart's eyes widened. Furiae… was going to die? "No…"

The anonymous voice continued. **She is just a normal woman. One who was to lie beside you, laughing and carefree.**

Inuart's eyes darted around the room frantically, no longer concerned about how he was to escape this strange voice. He had to help Furiae! Then, a thought came to him. "If she ceases to be a Goddess, can she become a woman again?"

The strange voice sounded almost kind in its answer. **For many, many years.**

"What should I do?" Inuart cried out helplessly. "I want to help her!"

**You need strength. Strength that comes from a pact with a dragon.**

A dragon? The only one that Inuart knew who had a pact with a dragon was… "Caim! Caim could help!"

Somehow, the voice sounded disappointed in Inuart's answer. **Caim? Allow him to bathe in her gratitude and love?**

Inuart lost the strength in his voice once more as he groped for some kind of explanation. Was he supposed to give Caim an invitation to surpass him yet again? Was he supposed to be the one left in the shadows of victory as Caim bathed in its light once more? Surely Furiae would see him… Surely Furiae would know that it was Inuart who saved her…? "She…" he whimpered.

The voice was unrelenting in its answer. **She is my bride. She is MY bride. Her kisses are mine alone. Her love is mine alone. If only I had the strength….**

A revelation occurred in Inuart's mind: if HE could make a pact with a dragon, then HE could save Furiae. HE could be the one in the glorious light of victory and Caim would be the one left in the shadows. HE would be the one to surpass Caim, and there would be nothing that Caim could do about it. CAIM would be the helpless one. CAIM would be the one cowering and calling for help. Inuart let a sneer slowly form on his face as his eyes began to glow a menacing red. If only he could find a dragon…

"If only I had the strength…"

…………

WOO! I wrote this in like… two days… Wo0t. Hurray for me. See, it's easier when it's mostly events and missions that have to follow a specific plot… Quicker that way. Anyway, thanks for reading! In any case, I would have had this chapter up earlier, but apparently, doesn't like my disc...

Ja!


	11. The Seal

I just found out that I've been misspelling "hierarch" this entire time. How embarrassing. At least, before the last chapter.

Great news! I FINALLY found a copy of Memory of Blood! THANK YOU, EBAY! THIS IS A HAPPY LIZZY!

:ahem: Anyway, I was watching my recorded stuff that I've been using for this fic -me playing through the missions and whatnot- and I was wondering what those Imperial soldiers were thinking as I make Angelus plow through them the first time and then go back and finish the rest of the battalion. The target's already destroyed, and there's only two or three people left with very little HP left. For a moment, I pity them. Then the pity disappears when they die.

FYI, Angelus thinks a lot to herself in the beginning. Prepare yourself for some cynicism.

_**Shadow of a Soldier**_

_**Chapter 11**_

_**The Seal**_

With the hierarch on the ground and she with her pact-human in the air, Angelus felt a bit more comfortable as they made their way to assault the Imperial troops that were attacking the Seal. Now that her pact-partner was slightly civil once more, she wouldn't have to worry about him making stupid mistakes for the moment. She turned her head down as she thought of the new addition to their mismatched "team". She couldn't say as much for the hierarch… He was old and senile.

Angelus sighed; as a dragon, she felt this entire "adventure" was a complete waste of time. If humans were more aware of their actions, then they wouldn't be in this mess. She wouldn't be bound to a bloodthirsty, warmongering pitiful excuse for a human and be obligated to cart him around so that he could fulfill his filthy need to decapitate or skewer anything that drew breath. She wouldn't have to try and look after him like a scared mother hen that had lost her chick. It was degrading. It was degrading for her, a powerful dragoness, to have to succumb to the human's whims and wills like an obedient, flying dog. She snarled. If only those damn Imperial humans hadn't started this entire plight, she wouldn't be in the freezing desert night trying to save a world that was already doomed because its "rulers" were completely incompetent.

Some dragons, though she did not know why, argued that humans were almost as intelligent as dragons. Maybe some of the select few scholar humans -that was a rather large maybe- but her experiences from the past few weeks argued differently. If they were as smart as her own species, then why did they seek to destroy themselves? These Imperial humans had to know that if they destroyed the Seals, then they would die. Not only that, much effort and toil went into creating and maintaining the Seals. Why go through the trouble of making a Seal to just destroy it?

She snarled as she threw the thought away. Humans weren't the only ones that made Seals: the Gods were the ones that started this endless cycle. She wasn't sure how they operated, but she knew that the Gods had something to do with this entire situation. They were devious enough to do it. They were the ones that made the Goddess Seal mandatory for "world peace". Humans made the others to take tiny portions of the burden off of said woman. Still… what were these other humans, these Empire humans trying to achieve? They would die when the Seeds appeared. They had nothing to gain. Angelus sighed and simply tossed the entire mental conversation out of her head. She was too tired to try and make sense of the humans' actions. _"Pillaging their own sacred Temples… Humans are beyond my understanding."_

From below, she heard Verdelet's voice, weary and weak. She now felt sympathetic to the Caim's irritated distant regard to the old man. _"The Goddess' burden grows! It must not be! If the Temple Seal fails…" _

Angelus snarled at the hierarch from three hundred feet in the air. _"Stop your sniveling!"_

Verdelet's fear was overpowering. _"The Desert… the Sea… the Forest… They are trying to destroy a Seal that protects the world! "_

Angelus growled again and sent a fireball to stop Verdelet's mindless whimpering. There was one thing that she found tolerable about her pact-partner: he never whined and moaned about what he had to do. He simply went out and completed his task, albeit with a little more morbid enthusiasm than one would think necessary. Unfortunately, that was the only thing that she considered possibly redeeming.

The Caim human shifted on her back restlessly. She felt his need to slice something arise and scowled. _"Are you not tired from you excursions from a few minutes ago? Or will your thirst for blood never be quenched?"_ She turned back to him, searching his dark face for some kind of answer. When he didn't move to make one, the dragoness smiled grimly. _"Nevermind…"_ she stated as she turned her head towards the front again. _"That was a stupid question to ask."_

Caim sighed as he turned his attention to the desert dunes rushing beneath him. For some reason, he wasn't too sure that the Seal would even be there once they arrived, but maybe that was his pessimism talking. Still, the doubt lingered there, and even if the Seal was there when they arrived, it wouldn't be there for very long. He shook his head as he absently rubbed his sore side. He was too cynical for his own good…

His scowl grew as Verdelet's panicked sobbing continued. _"Three temples and a Goddess. They are all that protect this world. If they are lost…" _

Caim, his already thinned patience diminishing, loosed a piece of rock that had lodged itself in his shoe and lobbed it at the hierarch. It struck the old man on the head, earning a startled wail of pain from the hierarch. He heard the dragon stifle a laugh from under him.

However, Verdelet was not aware the rock had come from Caim's hand and continued, though a little cautious of more random, flying rocks. _"Caim, your sister, the Goddess, despairs under the burden of her task. Forgive me…"_

The dragon lifted her head to see the general with one of her glowing yellow eyes and rolled her shoulders. _"Throw another one,"_ she suggested almost eagerly.

Caim's reply was grim. _I don't have anymore._

_"The Goddess Seal is the key that maintains order in this world," _the hierarch rambled on, unaware -or maybe just ignorant- of the two pact-partners' conversation. _"Quickly! They must not destroy the holy place. Please hurry, Caim!" _Verdelet urged his horse onward, gaining speed and distance, and in a few moments, dashing into the night ahead of Caim and the dragon. Caim shook his head.

_I find it odd that he rushes out to battle when he can't fight for himself,_ he commented sarcastically. The dragon's hide vibrated with a deep rumble.

_"I have seen more moronic actions taken by you, Human. Let us not forget what happened at the Silent Forest." _As Caim seethed on her back, the dragon turned her head towards him to look him directly in the eye. _"But I shouldn't worry about that. Your side will be all the reminder you need."_

Caim's glare strengthened. _Be quiet. I survived, didn't I?_

_"That is one way to word it," _she replied, her bright yellow eyes still fixated upon him. _"Another way would be to say that Inuart dragged your bloody half-dead bulk out of the forest just in time for the healers to dress your wounds."_

Caim fumbled around his shoes and, when he couldn't find another rock, flung a piece of his shoe at the dragon's head. Regrettably, it missed, and the dragon let a small fanged scowl appear on her reptilian face. _"Throwing stray rubber pieces of your shoe at me is not going to change the fact that you made many stupid mistakes, Human. Violence cannot erase your imbecility from the past."_

The Caim glared back at her fiercely. _And bitching about it won't change it, either._

Verdelet's ever-quivering voice sounded, breaking the argument momentarily. _"Quickly, Caim! The Temple will be lost!" _With this new cry, the dragon sped through the air, easily catching up to Verdelet and his horse, which were standing still on the sand. Caim jumped off casually and landed a few feet away from the hierarch. Above, he heard the dragon's wing beats circling them.

_"The Empire… here too!"_ the dragon whispered. _"It is only a matter of time before the Temple falls."_

"The Seal must hold! It must…!" Verdelet cried as the horse shifted uneasily under him. Caim looked at the cowardly old man in disgust and charged forward to the Temple, which to his eyes, was only a bright lavender circle in the darkness. He smiled. He knew that there would be many Imperial soldiers guarding the Temple and attacking the Seal. More blood for his already crimson sword.

Angelus snorted as the Caim human's mind once again dissolved until only the bestial yearning for blood remained. He charged forward with renewed vigor, hacking and slashing when he reached a platoon. He didn't flinch as one generic soldier managed to slice his back open, and proceeded to kill the man off easily. With that particular platoon dead, he ran around until he found another one, not paying any heed to his back wound. Angelus let her fangs show in the moonlight. A repeat of the Silent Forest's battle was NOT going to occur, not if she could help it.

Without regard to the Caim's protests, she cleared a path for him to the Seal; she knew that he would follow a trail of blood and gore in his deranged state of mind. As she threw dozens and dozens of fireballs down at the Empire soldiers, the hierarch's wailing pleas bombarded her mental ear. Apparently, he didn't intend for the amount of slaughter he was seeing.

_"N-no!" _he cried, _"May the Gods have mercy upon us!"_

Angelus snarled and threw another fireball down at the sand before turning her grand crimson head back in the direction where Verdelet and his horse were sitting, completely and utterly useless. _"If you want the Seal to be saved, we must kill these rats. Stop praying to your damn Gods; they are the ones that put us in this predicament in the first place! And if you are not going to help in the battle, then don't simply stand around and weep over what is lost! Be **QUIET!**"_ With that, she turned back to the battlefield and continued her work without Verdelet's mindless yipping in the back of her mind.

Suddenly, she saw the Caim human stop in his tracks as he finished with one platoon. Perhaps he had reached his limit? Or he had finally relented to his back wound? Or perchance he had snapped out of his blood-obsessed state of mind before the battle was over? She chanced the third option and probed his mind carefully. _"What is wrong?"_ she questioned as she circled above.

Surprisingly enough, the Caim's mind had somewhat returned to normal. Slowly, he held up an object to her. She blinked away the dark as her eyes tried to focus on the thing. Was that…?

_Inuart's harp,_ the Caim human supplied softly. He brought the harp back down to his eye level and inspected it carefully. _There's no mistaking it._

How intriguing. _"Inuart's harp, fallen on the sand,"_ Angelus mused as she continued producing sharp circles around the proximity of her pact-human. _"Where is he?"_

She watched as her pact-partner shouldered the wooden instrument. _There aren't any gaols around here, are there? _he asked delicately. Angelus considered the possibility of one; there was the other voice she had been hearing, after all.

Verdelet decided to enter the conversation; he could not function unless he gave out superfluous information and orders or asked useless questions. _"What is wrong? Has something happened?" _Angelus felt his uneasiness rise to new, more absurd levels. _"The Gods must be punishing us!"_

_"Silence!" _Angelus roared vehemently. _"Caim has found Inuart's harp."_

_"His harp?" _Verdelet asked incredulously.

_"Yes," _Angelus replied, her almost non-existent patience waning. _"Are there any gaols around here other than the one you were taken to that Inuart could have possibly been placed?"_

A moment, and then Verdelet's shrill voice returned to a sagely sound. _"Yes, there is. Just beyond the Seal."_

_"So Inuart is not here,"_ she concluded, somewhat disappointed in the hierarch's answer. Another wild goose chase for her to endure.

Without warning, the Caim dashed forward, his bloodlust deteriorating. Angelus watched, curious, as he made his way to the Temple now that most of the major throngs of Empire humans had been eradicated. It seemed he was genuinely concerned about the welfare of the Seal. She followed, killing whatever small numbers of Imperial troops that neared her pact-partner. With Verdelet on his horse, the Caim on foot, and she in the air, they dashed through the loose desert sands to the Seal, which was still glowing a healthy lavender.

As the Caim raced up the steps two at a time, Angelus saw shimmers in the pale purple light. She glared. Those weren't just tricks of her eyes, those were…

A pale, skeleton ghost clad in translucent blue robes reached up from the ground where the Caim's left foot was about to be. Another reached up to grab his belt, and more and more skeleton ghosts materialized in the Seal's light. _"Look out!"_ Angelus cried as a phantom flew up in front of the Caim and Verdelet. Verdelet, utterly shocked and scared out of his senile wits, fell back onto his back, shivering and shaking. The Caim human pointed his sword defiantly at the horde of shades, though Angelus could detect some uncertainty in their psychic link. What, the war-hardened soldier was afraid of the ghosts? Angelus couldn't help but let a snicker sound from her maw. How amusing.

_Why are there ghosts here?_ the Caim asked, somewhat shaken from his brush with the supernatural. _Why are they malevolent?_

_"It doesn't matter,"_ Angelus answered, angered that he was backing away from the Seal slowly. _"Just kill them!"_

The Caim looked over his shoulder to glare at her from below. _They're already dead!_

_"Then kill them again!"_ she cried as she circled around the Seal. _"I cannot believe that a few ghosts would frighten you into submission! Send them all back to Hell!"_

The Caim glared once more over his shoulder and charged forward, hacking and slashing at the shades. _"Servants of the Darkness, be gone!" _she cried as she continued to hold tight aerial circles around the Seal. She could not aid her pact-partner, since one of her fireballs might incinerate him, so she may as well try to boost his morale. As the Caim moved, the ghosts' heads turned to him, as if they could only hear him, not see.

_"Human, make your actions small when you move," _Angelus instructed from the air. _"Your footsteps -that is how they detect you."_ She did not hear a reply, but his feet stopped moving immediately. He stood still until a ghost ventured near as it tried to grope its way to him and then lashed out. Angelus smiled. Maybe there was a way to train this human after all.

Verdelet, now somewhat confident of their victory, pointed his staff at the Seal and cried, "Destroy the spirits of Hell! Drive all the spirits from the Temple! Drive them away now!"

After all the spirits were destroyed, the Caim stuck the point of his sword into the stone Temple, panting. A few drops of blood piddled down onto the sacred Temple's floor, marring the lavender circle. Angelus' gaze narrowed from her position in the sky. _"Perhaps your wounds are catching up to you, Human. You will not be able to go on like that for much longer."_

She saw his dark head look up and search for her. After a moment of following her form, he looked back down to the stone ground to hide his panting. _Be quiet. I'm fine._ With that, he retracted his sword from the cobblestone and raced down the steps back to the sand, where Imperial reinforcements awaited him. Angelus snarled as she followed. It seemed his cooperative manner was only for that fleeting moment.

Verdelet, in all his heroism, stayed on the now cleared-out Seal. _"Imperial forces are drawn to the Seal, like moths to a flame. Are the other Temples safe?"_

Angelus watched her pact-partner carefully. His blood thirst was there, but not so much as to override his rational side. His movements were sluggish, and his blows were weak. She growled in frustration. Judging from his bull-headed approach to fighting off the enemy, it seemed he wanted to die. Heaving a weary sigh, she dove in at him and the enemies that surrounded him with her talons out in front of her. This little dominance game was going to end.

With a swift swooping action, she picked up her pact-partner by his arms and heaved him up into the air with her. Once they were high enough, she flung him out of her claws above her and let him fall onto her back. He landed with a mental "oof" as the wind was knocked out of him. She felt as his hands slowly pulled him into his normal position on her back and then felt three punches to her leathery scarlet hide.

_Damn you!_ he cried, his voice frustrated but not without a hint of exhaustion. _Stop doing that! It's really annoying!_

_"Then stop trying to purge the world of the Empire by yourself," _Angelus replied calmly. Now that she had won the fight, she had no real need to be angry. Just as long as he didn't try to jump off of her, she would be fine. _"You're only human. You aren't capable of such a feat. If you weren't so damn stubborn and ignorant of your own limits, you would realize that."_ With that, she began to destroy the platoon in which her pact-partner had begun to kill.

Caim had never been so humiliated in his life. He had been completely fine. Granted, the enemies had gotten a little bigger and stronger, and he had been a little tired from his previous battles, but he was barely wounded, and the dragon had no right to simply swoop in and take him away. His shoulders slumped as he scowled at the back of the dragon's head. Damn overgrown, arrogant, stubborn, know-it-all…

Angelus was now in a wonderful mood. Her moronic, more-than-likely masochistic pact-partner was safe on her back, silently sulking. She was killing off battalion after battalion, and there were no archers in sight. This was a very nice night, indeed. Airily, she commented, _"Did they possess the darkness? Or does it possess them? No matter. They shall die."_

_Go to Hell,_ the Caim snapped at her.

Snickering, she continued to rain down fire upon the Imperial troops. She glanced at the Seal for a moment to see if Verdelet was still there or had run off to pray. Surprisingly enough, he was circling the perimeter of the Temple, trying to fend off the few soldiers that had escaped her wrath. For a moment, he stopped his horse and cried up to the heavens, _"Is this the will of the Gods? Is it their will that we be tested so?"_

Angelus scoffed and turned away from the old man. It seemed that there would be no end to the drama with that one. She picked off a few more soldiers that she had missed the first time around lethargically. There was no hurry now. Suddenly, Verdelet's voice cried out at her, panicked and horrified. _"The horror! The horror! I have never seen such sacrilege!"_

_The Seal!_ The Caim shouted, pointing back to the pale purple circle in the near distance. Making no pause for the poor men that were about to be cremated by her fire, she sped back to the Seal. She had thought that the hierarch would have been able to handle those few men by himself, but apparently not.

However, before she could get within firing range, the Seal emitted a bright flash before shutting out completely. A small band of Imperial troops cheered at their victory, and Angelus blew a fireball at them to shut them up. The Seal was broken, and her good mood had now been ruined. The Caim shifted on her back.

_Perhaps if you had overseen the Temple and let me fight on my own, this wouldn't have happened. _Angelus turned her scarlet head to face him, her yellow eyes glowing with anger.

_"Wrong,"_ she began, _"If you had fought any longer on your own, you would have been slain, and then I would have fallen down out of the sky, dead as well. Then they would have still accomplished their goal."_ Frustrated, she turned back to the hierarch, who was still wailing about the destruction of the Seal.

_"Argh!"_ he bawled, _"The Seal! The Seal is broken!"_

Angelus heaved a long sigh. _"This place has fallen,"_ she admitted regretfully. _"We should return to the Goddess."_

The Caim's response was grim. _If she's still there._

_"…"_

…………

It took about half an hour to return to the rock formation where they had left Leonard and Furiae. There was a happy little fire hidden away from the winds and unfriendly eyes among the rocks and tents, and Caim could see a few rabbit carcasses as he approached them. Leonard was, of course, asleep beside the fire, the faerie sleeping on the hermit's tawny cloak. The black stallion was tethered near one of the tents, looking somewhat interested at the new arrivals. The dragon was still hovering a few hundred feet above them, keeping watch for any followers. At the sound of their footsteps, Furiae turned towards them, relief spreading across her face as she stood. She happily ran to them, but stopped when she only saw two people.

"You are safe," she began softly, "but where is Inuart?"

Caim sighed and then removed the harp that had been sitting on his shoulder. As he held it out to Furiae, her face grew even paler. "His… harp…" she whispered as her now quivering hand went to her chest.

_"It was lying on the desert sands," _the dragon supplied from the air stoically.

Suddenly, Furiae collapsed to her knees, shaking and shivering. Caim immediately knelt and put the harp onto the ground to tend to his sister, lending a hand on her shoulder for support. Verdelet did the same, and in response to the old man's presence, Furiae leaned more towards Caim. The hierarch didn't seem to notice this and asked worriedly, "Highness! Does the burden grow greater, now that the Desert Seal is broken?"

She shook her head and clung to Caim's outstretched arm. "I am well. Quite well." To prove this, she got back to her feet on her own, as did her brother. "But what of Inuart?" She looked at Verdelet for a moment, then back to Caim, searching their faces for some kind of silent answer. In response to this, Caim could nothing more than hang his head in shame. They had failed at both protecting the Seal and finding Inuart. Furiae's bright blue eyes lowered at her brother's gesture.

Then, Verdelet lifted his head as if to listen to something far away. "Caim, can you hear that?"

Blinking, Caim looked around, trying to listen for some kind of noise. But no matter what he did, he could hear nothing. Giving up, he shook his head and the hierarch frowned. "The voice is weak and faint," Verdelet supplied, "I would not expect you to hear it."

_"Tell me,"_ the dragon voiced from above, _"do you plan to seek out this voice?"_

Verdelet didn't pick up on the subtle tone of annoyance in her voice and replied, "If we ignore it, the consequences may be grave."

_"The weak would do well to know their own limits, old man,"_ she growled in response. Caim lifted his head to try and see her, but the fire made that impossible.

_Why don't you eat him and save us the trouble of his company?_ Caim asked as he heard her distant wing beats circle around them.

A pause, and then, _"Then I wouldn't have room for the stallion."_

"Do you know from where this voice beckons?" Verdelet asked up to the sky. There was another pause before she answered, as if she hesitated in answering him.

_"An Imperial gaol in the desert." _

…………

Wow, this chapter was really fun to write. I personally liked Caim's "go to hell" comment. Fun, fun, fun. Though, that last part kinda sucked, but oh well.

Anyway, most of you don't know that I write/draw my own comic. It's not published, unfortunately, but I did finish it about three weeks ago. And through the six months that I've been drawing it in my sketchbooks, it hasn't had a name. Well, I finally found one for it! _Divinus_ it is! It's the Latin word for "divine" since, as I discovered as I was drawing it, it's pretty much an indictment of organized religion. Wo0t. And here I am, a faithful Catholic. I'm a horrible Catholic. O.o

Ja!


	12. Arioch Lives

Wow, it has been more than two months since I updated. I am a terrible person. Oh well. Sorry it took so long. I fell out of Drakengard and went back to pokemon for a bit. Though one could technically say that I am still out of Drakengard, I had an urge to write something and so, I turned to this. Just be happy it's not another chapter of What the Hell?.

Just so you know, this chapter is HUGE. But not only is it huge, it is a little unrefined. I wanted to get it out as soon as possible, so it may not be up to the caliber of writing that you guys are used to seeing out of me. I'm really not that proud of it, but you guys have been waiting a while, so I'm going to go ahead and put it up. Just FYI.

_**Shadow of a Soldier**_

_**Chapter 12**_

_**Arioch Lives**_

Angelus took off with a mighty heave of her legs into the brisk, cool night air. It really was turning out to be a rather event-filled night, seeing as how the Desert Seal was broken and they found Inuart's harp in the sand. Not to mention they were now speeding through the darkened desert to another Imperial gaol that housed a potential ally. Angelus snorted. Knowing their run of luck, the pact-partners would be either utterly useless or insane beyond reason. However, they needed all the help they could get, even if they were more of a liability.

As Angelus leveled out in the sky, she turned her attention to her pact-partner, who seemed uncharacteristically cooperative. What was wrong now? She snorted as she made a quick glance at the human on her back. Maybe their last dominance clash had settled everything? Surely not. This one seemed far too stubborn for his pride to melt away that quickly, though she wouldn't mind if it did. Still, she may as well enjoy the peace and quiet while it lasted. She turned her attention back to the front to discover yet another obstacle in her path: a horde of flying stone torsos and stone heads. It appeared that she and the rest of the party were expected. She felt the Caim human shift uneasily.

…_What are those things?_ he asked as Angelus began to bombard the flock of flying stone enemies with her fire.

The mighty dragoness scoffed as she easily dove down out of the way of a flying green ball of energy. _"Do you even care? I thought your warmongering held no boundaries."_

_I was just asking, you flying, scaly windbag,_ the human retorted venomously.

Angelus glared back at her pact-partner. The battle of insults was on. _"Ignoramus."_

_Overgrown bat._

_"Imbecile."_

_Rabid bloodsucker._

_"Bloodthirsty mongrel."_

_Fire-breathing control freak._

_"Sadistic worm."_

_Jealous midwife!_

_"Masochistic moron!"_

_Insecure simpleton!_

_"Insolent grub of a human!"_

The human quickly unsheathed his sword and let it dig into the soft flesh of the base of her neck, allowing a few buds of dark, crimson blood to appear. _If I hadn't of gotten so badly hurt on that accursed day, I wouldn't need you! I would have killed you where you lay! Then I wouldn't have to listen to your constant mothering and ceaseless sarcasm!_

Angelus snapped at her human counterpart while letting a few small tongues of fire escape her maw. _"Do you think I wanted this? To be constantly reminded of the already blatantly obvious human stupidity and rode on like a damn head of cattle? I would have let you kill me if I knew I was going to be used like an oblivious beast of burden!"_

At that moment, a stone head let loose a fireball, which struck Angelus in the shoulder and earned a cry of pain from the dragoness. Already infuriated by the mental battle she was in the middle of with her pact-partner, she shrieked and threw one of her own fireballs, which demolished the stone head easily. After feeling the tip of the human's sword removed from her neck and heaving a heavy sigh, she turned her attention back toward her foes. If she did not focus on the real battle, she and the Goddess' hope would be lost forever. _"We must clear them away and hurry to that voice," _she commented wearily. In response to this, the human merely sheathed his sword and slunk back into his previous position: a slouched pout.

Caim was not having a very good night. First off, the dragon was being more maternal and vexing than ever. Second, because of the dragon's stupidity over the little dominance dance they were individually trying to win, she made the mistake of leaving the Temple in the hands of Verdelet, thus leading to the destruction of the Seal. And then they found Inuart's harp… A shadow entered his eyes as he recalled his sister's sorrowed face at the news. He couldn't find Inuart, the one person that made her smile these days. He had failed her…

A sharp pain in his side brought him out of his reverie and back into his current situation: the dragon was eliminating the surprisingly large horde of enemies in the night sky with a bit of difficulty, since some of them could shield themselves from her attacks. The throbbing at his side made him hold it with his free hand and he grimaced. Of all his wounds, this was the persistent one? Granted, it had been a serious wound to begin with, but with his pact, he should be able to get over it far sooner than if he was an ordinary man. He snarled at himself, frustrated at his inability to heal. Why was it taking so long?

As the dragon finally finished off the last of that particular flock, Caim couldn't help but smirk viciously. Though she was a pain in the ass, she could fight! With this power, he would be able to eliminate the Empire and set Inuart free from their grasp. His parents would be revenged, he would have his little kingdom back and the dragon could piss off to wherever the hell she wanted. Furiae would be safe to live back at their castle and everything would be back to normal. As if in response to his thoughts, the dragon scoffed. _"Does only slaughter calm your soul?"_

Caim frowned, a little annoyed that she had interrupted his thoughts. _Can't I be genuinely glad that you won?_

_"No."_

Verdelet, since he had not said anything for a while, decided to chime in. _"If you were truly her brother, you would not be so quick to bloody your sword." _In response to this ever-tactful remark, Caim's lip began to twitch and searched for a small knife to throw at the old man.

Angelus, though she would like to see the human stick a knife in the old man -or to see him miss and hit the wretched black stallion the hierarch was riding instead- stopped him by jarring her shoulder blades violently. _"I very much doubt that killing the hierarch would make that statement any less true."_

_It would relieve some stress, though,_ the Caim human remarked as he resumed his search.

Unaware of the pact-partners' conversation, Verdelet continued. _"Caim, do you wish to kill the entire Empire alone? Such a frightful ambition."_

Angelus heard the Caim human scoff and mutter, _Yes, to a cowardly, senile old man, it would, _and continued to search for something to throw. The dragon snorted in amusement and flew to the next throng of aerial enemies. The Caim human was so easy to irritate. As she prepared to attack, she wondered how long it would take for the Caim to finally give in to his instincts and kill the old man.

Suddenly, a flash of white moonlight reflected off of something hidden in the dark and struck out, slashing the leathery hide of her chest. She roared in pain and felt another slash along one of her wing membranes, causing her to stumble in the air.

_What the hell's attacking us? _the Caim human cried as he searched the skies from her back.

_"It doesn't matter what it is, it needs to die!"_ Angelus roared in response as she whirled around to find her assailant, only to see nothing but night. Suddenly, she felt a whirl of wind brush past her and then a sharp pain sliced through her hip.

_"Damn phantom!" _she cried as she tried to find the enemy. _"Show yourself!" _Her wing now throbbed as she attempted to keep hovering in the air, as well as her hip and chest. Then, she felt the human shift on her back as he unsheathed his sword again. _I see it,_ was his calm remark.

Without a moment's hesitation, she saw the human swing the sword to force the fireballs contained within the sword to fly out into the night. His aim was true and the attacker was revealed: a ghostly phantom with a large, iron sickle. Angelus snarled and followed up her human counterpart's attack with her own fireballs. They struck and the ghost fell to the ground, shrieking. However, the small victory was bittersweet; the wounds that the phantom had inflicted were hindering her ability to fly. She made a quick glance to her left wing, the one the spirit had wreaked, and grimaced at the large tear between the first two fingers. She would have to land, and it would have to be soon. Though the final throng of enemies was not yet destroyed, she moved to bypass them and go straight for the gaol. Apparently, the human would have nothing of it.

_Where are you going?_ he almost shouted, _There are still enemies! They all have to die!_

She shrugged the human's blood thirst off. _"With my wing injured like it is, I won't be able to fly for much longer. We must get as far as we can to the gaol before I have to land."_

_No!_ he cried, furious. _You have to kill them! KILL THEM!_

Angelus snorted angrily and built a large magic attack to try and clear the main bulk of the flock before she had to land. _"There will be no end if you try to crush them all, ENOUGH!" _The blast she emitted was enormous; streams of fire-red letters of the ancient language spouted from her mouth, seeking out all of the enemies in the near vicinity, slicing and burning as they went. After the attack, she stumbled again in the air, this time almost losing her air current and falling. Though her wing began to throb with a pulsating, hideous, blinding pain, she sped up to try and keep her focus on her objective. She had to make it to that damn gaol. Verdelet, who sped below them on the infamous black stallion, saw the stagger in her flight.

_"My Lady Dragon," _he began with concern, _"what is wrong? There is blood splattering on the ground all around me! Are you wounded?"_

_"Of course I am!"_ she howled in response. What, did he think that she was stumbling on the few thermals available for fun? That the sky was simply raining blood? She felt a small flicker of concern from her pact-partner, but when she was about to ask about it, it disappeared as soon as it had come.

Due to the harshness of her response to his earlier question, Verdelet's next one was voiced with a trace of fear. _"Are you well enough to keep flying?"_

Angelus paused for a brief instant, then replied wearily. _"Yes… For the moment…"_

Caim shifted on the dragon's back with a little hesitancy. The rather large wound on her flank was already festering with small pockets of puss and fat oozing out and the burn on her shoulder was smoldering in the cool night air. He didn't know how much the dragon's wing membrane and chests wounds hurt, but he knew that they did to a point; the slight throbbing in his chest and hand were enough to deduce that. He could feel the weariness that came with blood loss creep over his and her systems, which didn't make him feel too secure while he was hundreds of feet up in the air. He decided it was better to keep the crimson beast focused until he dismounted. _Dragon,_ he began cautiously as he glanced over the edge of his ride, _I still can't hear the damn voice. Can you?_

The dragon gave a snort before answering. _"Yes…" _she began slowly. _"The voice wails and keens. No sane man or woman speaks with such a voice."_

Caim smirked as he leaned back a little. _Insane or not, this person might be useful. At least more so than that cowardly toad and his annoying little gnat._

The dragon snorted again, this time in contempt. _"Does compassion drive you? Or do you seek to recruit even the mad to your cause?"_ She turned to look at him in the eye. _"Either way, you will end up killing them in your blood-crazed state eventually."_

Before Caim could come up with a sarcastic remark, Verdelet, in all his usefulness, declared, _"The Imperial prison is before us."_ Caim looked forward to see the gaol, a depressing, dark, dank building in the distance, which was surrounded by Imperial troops. _"The voice emanates from there."_

…………

Two Imperial soldiers casually made their way through the torch-lit hallway of the gaol. It was a slow, harmless night, so they felt it all right to meander through the halls until their shift ended and they could finally get some well-deserved sleep. As they were strolling, a feminine cackle echoed throughout the prison, causing one of them stop.

"No matter how much I hear it, I can't abide that voice," one with a rounded helmet commented drearily.

"Is that so?" the other, a taller man with a cylindrical helmet, replied. "I've grown fond of it, I have."

"Puh. Long as it's a woman, huh?" the first answered with a hint of sarcasm. "You're the odd one, liking an elf like that. Have you seen her eyes? Pretty scary, if you ask me. Even when she smiles, they're dead."

The second shrugged. "Me, I feel sorry for her. Better for her if she had died with the rest of her family." As the manic laughter continued, the second soldier sighed wearily. It was almost the end of their shift, why couldn't the elf stay calm for a little bit longer so they wouldn't have to deal with her? "Right, then," he stated, "Let's go settle her down."

"Careful, mate!" the first exclaimed, "She'll get you for sure!"

"That's all right. We're not her type, now are we?" As he moved to unlock the prison cell that held the mad elf, a rumble outside stopped him. What was that? There hadn't been an earthquake here in a hundred years… He turned to his shift-partner. "What the--?" the first soldier started as he frantically glanced around the prison walls.

"Oh, bloody hell, the Union!" the second soldier exclaimed as he figured out the source of the rumbling. "They're attacking!" And as they tried to run away, the walls exploded in fire and rubble…

…………

"Uhnn…" What was that explosion…? What had that been…?

Arioch lay in the middle of what was once her prison cell, still bound by her leather shackles and chains. The Empire had attacked her village and killed her family, then took her hostage. She had been in that bloody cell for too long…

Then, a light chiming sound came to her ears; a sound like the little metal instruments her children used to play with… At the thought of her offspring, she opened her eyes to see if they had finally come to take her with them, so that they could be one once more. However, instead of seeing the bright little faces of her darlings, she saw two lights: one a bright, lively fire and the other a deep, cooling orb of water. They circled around each other in a strange dance as they approached her, slowing when they were only a few feet away.

_"It is too soon for you to die,"_ the two lights stated simultaneously. Somewhat alarmed and curious, Arioch sat up as they spoke. _"Now… you will come with us."_

…………

Angelus was having a little more trouble now with flying. It seemed that the wing tear was spreading, and if she didn't land soon, it would be even harder to heal. She grimaced against the pain. If she couldn't fly, that meant the Caim human had a valid excuse to rampage on the ground, and knowing him, he would get into mortal peril again. As soon as she cleared the last large sand dune, she began to circle for a landing. The Caim human shifted uncomfortably on her back.

…_Is your wing hurting you that much?_ he asked, not without a tiny hint of concern. _Will you be able to fight?_

Angelus scoffed. _"The tear is more of a threat than you may think, Human. If I let it get out of control, then it may never heal properly, and because of that, I may never fly properly again. I am merely making sure that I am not putting myself into unneeded danger." _She turned to glare at him over her singed shoulder. _"Unlike some…"_

The human made no move to respond, so she turned her attention back to the front. Unfortunately, with the tear in her wing, she didn't expect a sudden gust of wind that her wing normally wouldn't catch, and was suddenly pushed off course. She was sent sprawling into the air; her talons were out to grab for something solid and her wings were out full. Grimacing against the pain, she folded her wings completely, leaving her a large bulk in the sky. As she dropped, she opened up her wings at the last minute, but it was too late to save the landing.

Angelus grunted as she crashed into a large sand dune head first, and because of the sudden stop, the human went flying and landed thirty some odd feet away. Growling against the sharp pangs of sand getting into multiple wounds and her already wounded haunches sore from the landing, she stood up slowly on all fours and shook her head to clear away what sand she could. She glanced around the pale moonlit desert sands and saw the human sprawled on the sand face down.

Verdelet made his way to her side, a very concerned look on his withered face. "My Lady Dragon!" he cried, "are you all right? That looked like such a painful landing…"

She was about to respond when the human interrupted her thoughts. _Damn dragon!_ he cursed as he picked himself off of the ground. _I'll be spitting out sand for a week! _As if to reiterate this, he promptly spat onto the sand while brushing himself off. Angelus growled.

_"Forgive the inconvenience,"_ she replied with a humble, penitent tone to her normally scathing voice. _"If I knew this was going to upset you so, I would have magically healed myself in the air. Why didn't I think of that sooner?"_ The Caim human turned to her with more scathingly hateful disdain in his eyes than she had seen before. Of course, she didn't take this into account and went on. _"Wherever would I be without your guidance, oh wise Human? Surely, without your guiding hand, this world would wither and perish." _As the human glared, he threw a rock at her, which landed ten feet in front of her, and began to walk off.

In retaliation, or maybe just for the hell of it, Angelus tossed a small fireball at him, which hit the sand right behind the human, causing a wave of sand to spring up and crash down onto the Union soldier. For a moment, all he did was stand there with his hands tightening into fists, his shoulders hunched like an angry cat, and, of course, small streams of sand slowly pouring out of his ebony black hair and armor. Angelus wondered whether or not he would try to kill her then, but she saw no change in his stance. After a long pause and letting out a lengthy, frustrated sigh, he resumed walking towards the gaol; this could be settled later.

As Angelus let her sadistic smirk grow on her reptilian face, Verdelet dismounted the damned black stallion and tied the reins to a dead tree. "I will try and cover Caim's flank." He swung his staff around as if to prove to her that he actually could fight, though it was already apparent that he couldn't. "You may do as you wish, Lady Dragon."

_"Hmph,"_ Angelus scoffed. _"I don't need a human to tell me that."_

He chuckled and bowed. "Of course not." He began to trot at a slow speed to try and catch up to the Caim human. "We will be back!" he shouted as he faded into the dark horizon. Once he was completely gone from both her sight and nostrils, she sighed heavily. It was a rare time indeed that she felt utterly useless.

A nervous whinny to her right caught her attention and she turned to see the accursed black stallion anxiously dancing around his tether, trying to get as far away as he could from her. Angelus snorted in amusement. _"Alone at last, it seems…"_ she commented quietly as she slowly stalked closer to the horse. She opened her mouth ever so slightly to reveal the white fangs within her maw. _"How fortunate."_

…………

Caim rushed out into the valley after clearing the mountain cave of Imperial soldiers. He had been fighting for a good hour or so, and still the soldiers kept coming; there was no end to them. Not that he minded, of course. After he obliterated one particular group of soldiers, he stopped for a moment as he felt the dragon's emotions rise with glee. Confused, he slowly turned back to the tunnel he had just emerged. What could she possibly be so damn happy about?

Before he could ask, he saw a black-robed figure stumble its way towards him: Verdelet. Caim sighed in annoyance. Now he was going to have to baby-sit the hierarch as well? He stabbed his sword into the ground, frustrated. _Dragon,_ he demanded, _Why is the old man out here?_ He then took into account that the hierarch was on foot and flinched. _And where is the stallion? …You didn't eat it, did you?_

For a moment, the dragon didn't respond. When he was about to ask again, she solemnly replied, _"I'm afraid Verdelet left the stallion of his own accord… and unfortunately, while I wasn't looking, a platoon of Imperial soldiers came and attacked. I did what I could, but the stallion--"_

_You DID eat it!_ Caim shouted back, furious. _We still need it, dammit!_

The dragon then appeared on the peak of the mountain, hanging onto the rock face with her talons and wing thumbs. Her amber eyes were glowing with mischief in the moonlight, and Caim could see small trails of blood around her mouth. Her tail was slowly waving side to side in amusement as she slightly cocked her head. _"You can always get another one."_

Caim sighed and pulled his sword back out of the ground. He knew he shouldn't have let Verdelet take the black one… It wasn't like he had any emotional attachment to that particular stallion, but it was the principle of the matter. Damn dragon…

Verdelet shivered in fear as he saw the oncoming platoons of Imperial soldiers. He turned to Caim, his pale, wrinkled face amplified by the full moonlight. "The voice has become more unstable. If we do not hurry--"

Caim shoved the useless hierarch aside as he began to trot toward the army in the near distance. The old man would only get in the way. A sadistic smile began to weave its way across his face when the dragon interrupted his thoughts.

_"There will be no more of THAT tonight,"_ she commented as she made her way to his side. It seemed that she could move well enough one the ground with only her hind legs on the ground and her wings folded at her side. Caim's smile descended into a grim frown as she stopped a few feet from him. Even with her wing wounded, he still could not be rid of her? She turned her head to look down on him. _"It's rather frustrating to try and speak to you when your mind is nothing but a bestial yearning for blood and carnage." _Caim was about to retort when a voice wormed its way into his mind.

_"A light..?" _a feminine voice asked in the back of Caim's mind. _"I saw it…"_

_Dragon, _Caim began as he glanced around for the gaol. Now that they were on the ground, it was difficult to see. _"Is this the voice?"_

The dragon grunted a response as she leaned forward on her wing thumbs. _"Yes… It seems she is still alive. How fortunate…"_

Verdelet's voice entered their minds. _"Light? What is this voice trying to tell us?"_

Disregarding the hierarch's question, the dragon smelled the air and allowed a growl rumble through her chest. _"Hmm… The voice is coming from this direction…"_ She let out an angry snort. _"But the Empire will not let us by easily."_

Caim smirked as he performed a few fancy tricks with his crimson blade. _That doesn't matter. We'll get in anyway. _Though his bloodlust was somehow being repressed by the dragon, he charged into battle all the same, eager for his death toll to reach even higher heights.

Angelus roared as she followed somewhat awkwardly on the ground beside her pact-partner. Though it was rather difficult to focus on the battle and to restrain the human's bloodlust simultaneously, she still felt as if she were making progress. She had successfully stopped the human's mind from deteriorating, so it may be possible to erase it all together. She knew that the Caim human was much more powerful within the blood-crazed state, but he was prone to stupid mistakes, and that could not happen. She could not allow that to happen if she wanted to live another month.

She ran on her hindquarters, circling the already destroyed gaol and burning whatever resistance there was so that they may find the pact-partners in peace. The Caim human was not too far away, hacking and slashing at a group of five Imperial generals. She snarled at her partner's large disadvantage. Though he was taller than most humans, these generals towered over the Caim human at least by a few feet and wielded far larger and more powerful weapons than his blade. She began to run toward him as his sword was knocked out of his hand and he was thrown onto the ground. _"Stay down, Human!"_ she warned as she got within firing range. The Caim saw her approach and stayed down on the sand as Angelus breathed a long stream of fire.

When the five generals lay charred on the desert sand, Angelus let out a contented snort of approval. The Caim human didn't seem to appreciate her effort, however. _You didn't have to do that, Dragon,_ he snarled as he picked his sword up where it had fallen. _I had everything under control._

_"So you were planning on letting those Imperial giants to kill you?"_ she asked politely as she turned back around to finish off the small groups of soldiers she had missed the first time around. _"Forgive my impudence." _She bowed her head ever so slightly and, as she was about to walk off, she kicked some sand out behind her, once again drenching her pact-partner with sand.

As Caim was about to make her other wing useless, Verdelet's voice entered his head. _"Hurry!"_ he began with a sob in his voice, _"The voice changes! It becomes faint!"_

Without hesitation, Caim dashed into the still smoldering gaol, searching for the pact-partners. He could now hear the voice as well as the dragon probably could, so it was merely a task of honing in on the voice. He eventually found her sitting in what was probably once her cell with her back to him, her leather bindings scattered about her. There were two lights dancing around her dark brown head: one red, one blue. Caim's brow furrowed as he stared at her back. She had two beasts?

Verdelet arrived shortly after, heavily panting from the sprint through the desert. "This is she," he stated in between breaths, "This is the new set of pact-partners." As Caim silently mocked the hierarch for his talent of stating the obvious, Verdelet took a few steps forward to the elf woman. "You too have a pact-beast. What is your name?"

The woman stood and lolled her head to the side as if examining something in the distance. "Arioch," she replied slowly and turned to see them face-to-face. Caim's brow lifted at the sight of her face. If she weren't an elf, she would have been a beautiful woman. But there was something in her deep red eyes that told him something was wrong with her. He shrugged it off. There was something wrong with everyone these days.

"You… surrendered your womb," Verdelet continued as he took another step toward her. Though Caim wanted to know how he knew that, the Arioch elf didn't seem to mind his comment. Without making a response to his statement, she slowly turned to her surroundings.

She smiled as the thought of her dear darlings came to her broken mind. "Tell me. Are there any children here?"

Verdelet mistook her glee for concern and replied, "Fear not. They have been evacuated."

Arioch sighed in dismay. She had hoped she would find her children so they could be one again… They tasted so good… "So, there are none here. A pity. They're so sweet…"

As she scanned the faces of the people that had found her, her eyes rested on the young man in the armor. He was human, but that didn't matter. She licked her lips in anticipation. He was still young enough to have the sweet taste of youth within him… Giggling in glee, she half ran, half staggered to him and grabbed the black shirt under his blood-stained armor. Oh yes, he would still be tasty. She could smell the sweet, intoxicating flavor of her young in his scent. She looked up into his eyes, which weren't that different from her dead husband's, and opened her salivating mouth in preparation. "…But an adult will suffice!"

Caim gasped as she went for his neck and tried to pry her off. However, she had a firm grip on his armor and he was already tired from the rather long night that he had endured. He grimaced as her teeth managed to break the skin just below his jaw. _Damn elf!_ he cried in his mind as he shoved her off with one last surge of energy. She stumbled back, but she was determined and flung herself at him again, trying to tear into the wound she had made.

The dragon, because of her bulk, couldn't fit into the destroyed gaol, so she could only roar from the other side of the wall. _"Get back, elf!" _she warned. Verdelet stepped forward, his staff held out in front of him, began to chant in the ancient language.

"_Hom gellech ne'allay fray natila. Hom gellech ne'allay fray natila. Hom gellech ne'allay fray natila. _Hah!"

The chant now completed, a light shone from the hierarch's staff and transferred itself to Arioch's neck. As if a weight had been placed upon her, she fell to the ground, paralyzed. Caim stumbled back from the elf and rubbed his bleeding neck. He wasn't too sure if she should be a part of their entourage anymore…

Verdelet sighed and turned to Caim, somewhat proud that he had done something useful. "This lock spell will hold her, but for how long I cannot say. I will take her with me, for her own good, as well as for others around her."

Angelus snorted at the old man's words; the best thing for that elf and the others around her would be to kill her and be done with it. No mind that far gone could be brought back, no matter how one tried. The "Arioch" was a very dangerous lost cause. Still, the addition to their team would make the entire trip much more interesting, since the elf might eat the hermit. Disregarding the wound the elf had inflicted upon her pact-partner, she warmed to the idea. _"So this is what you call 'human kindness'?"_ She couldn't help but chuckle. How wonderful…

…………

Woo! Done! I'm finally done!

Anyway, sorry again for the wait. I really hate having to put ya'll through that, but college has now taken a firm hold on my life, so I don't have as much free time anymore. It's heartbreaking, I know.

Some of you might be wondering why Verdelet dismounted the stallion in the first place, since he was going to be running and all without it. Well, all I can say is that it's because he's Verdelet.

In Memory of Blood, there's this picture of older Caim and Manah walking through a blizzard. For some odd reason, I really love that picture. Mostly because it features Caim, a rarity in that book, but I still really, really like it. It makes me so happeh.

My little Ava puppy is now 53 lbs at 7 months. o.O

Ja!


	13. Betrayal

Again, I am absent for a while… Well, all I can say about that is that I now have a nice little routine on the weekdays, and I can tell you writing isn't part of it. I am now enjoying a job at Toys R Us, where I finally can truly understand and respect the cashiers during the holiday season. The thing is, most customers are really nice, but some are just evil. Sorry guys, but I'm not being paid enough to be your bitch. Stupid evilness.

_**Shadow of a Soldier**_

_**Chapter 13**_

_**Betrayal**_

Angelus sighed as the sun peeked over the rocky horizon; that night had been too long of one. They, being she, her pact-partner, the old man and the mentally ill elf had returned to the small camp the hermit and the Goddess kept not too long ago. The Caim human didn't waste too much time in plopping down on her scaly side to sleep. He hadn't even dressed his wounds before he fell into unconscious bliss.

The scarlet dragoness turned her grand head to the human in question. His left arm rested over his chest plate; the other was sprawled in an odd direction. His head had lolled to the right a while ago in his sleep, and it hid the neck wound the she-elf had inflicted upon him. Angelus snorted as the smell of his blood infiltrated her nostrils. It was a smell that now sent her on edge, something that she hadn't predicted. She was now in constant worry over the human when she smelt his blood. She dismissed it as a part of the pact they now shared and let out a long, weary sigh as she tried to calm her nerves back down.

She laid her head down in an attempt to get a little bit of sleep before the sun was completely up. However, something intangible prevented that. Something unidentifiable spread throughout her entire body, coursing through her veins. Suddenly, her senses became more accurate, every detail observable. Every smell could be found. No sound escaped her ears. Her already acute senses were even sharper, allowing her to perceive the crumbling world around her even better.

She snarled as a dull pain began to echo from the far reaches of her body: her horns, her tail, her talons and her wings. It grew slowly to where it enveloped her entire body with a pressured heat that bore down on her. Her snarl grew as the pain did, and when she thought she was about to collapse from the pressure, it lifted. The feeling withered away along with the heat, the pain and pressure. Angelus raised her head back up and took a tentative breath of air. What had that been just now?

_Dragon?_ she heard the Caim human ask cautiously. …_What happened to you?_

Her amber gaze narrowed. _"What do you mean, 'what happened to me'?"_

The Caim human didn't make a mental answer, he merely lowered his gaze to her side, where his head had been resting and back up to the back of her head. Rather bewildered by his reluctant, mute reply, Angelus lowered her head in order to view what had become of her body. Her findings were, bluntly, surprising.

Her wingspan had nearly doubled in size; her spindly webbed fingers stretched even further than she could ever remember. Her tail, which had been not much more than a simple bulge in flesh, was now more aerodynamic: smoother, sleeker. The hide on her back was no longer merely rougher than the rest; it now possessed hard plates lining her back all the way down to the tip of her tail. Her color had even changed. What had once been a bright scarlet and white underbelly was now a deep crimson, almost a violet red. Her white chest and stomach darkened to a rich beige.

Angelus looked back to the human in question. Since she herself couldn't see, the Caim human sent her a mental picture of what her head had become. It had grown as well, and her profile was much more defined, with the beginnings of a horn at the tip of her snout. Her main horns by her eyes were what caught her attention. The large, white spherical horns she was used to were gone, replaced by ones that swept back elegantly. They were segmented and undulated to a small point, where the end curved back, reminiscent of their previous form. She shook the image away. What had incurred this change? Could it have been the pact she shared?

She looked down to see the human still staring at her. _"What?"_

The Caim human shrugged. _I… didn't know dragons could change like that. How did it happen? _

Angelus snarled in frustration. She didn't expect for her body to evolve so quickly. Most dragons never evolved, but when they did, it was because of some outside force. Either they needed to in order to adapt with their surroundings or some other need incurred it, like a pact to a lunatic. The ability had been passed down from generation to generation, engraved in all dragons' blood. This ability had been dubbed the "blood memory" over the many centuries. The secrets of the dragons' blood memory had never been divulged to a human before, and she wasn't about to, either.

_"That is none of your concern, Human,"_ Angelus growled back. _"All you need to know is that I'm stronger now. And if you don't mind, I am going to go and hunt."_

Caim returned the glare the dragon was giving him and replied, _Didn't the stallion fill your belly enough? Or do I need to ride another horse for you to eat?_

Without a verbal answer, the dragon shoved him off her side with her wing and took off into the air with greater speed than she had ever done before. Caim couldn't help but smile. Maybe he would be able to get through this war alive.

Sighing, he pushed himself off the ground and headed towards the small fire Verdelet and Leonard had built. The mad elf, Arioch, was already nibbling on a small hunk of meat at the edge of the camp. Leonard was sitting on a log quietly, probably musing about his lost brothers. Verdelet and Furiae were nearest to the fire, eating whatever Arioch was eating. His sister's eyes caught his and she invited him to sit with them.

"Good morning, Caim," Furiae greeted happily as he approached her. As he sat beside her, she held out a stick with a hunk of meat skewered at the top. "Are you hungry?"

He eyed the meat carefully, then shook his head and pushed it away gently. Furiae's face fell a little, and she offered the meat again. "Caim, please?"

Caim sighed heavily, and took the stick from his sister. Though he really wasn't all that hungry, he knew that Furiae would be upset if he didn't eat. So, giving in to his sister's pleading gaze, he began to chew the slab slowly. Furiae happily clapped her hands and hugged her brother. "Good. I can't have you out there on the battlefield with an empty stomach!" she cried happily. Caim made no move to answer her happy cry; he simply continued nibbling on his slab of meat. In the corner of his eye, he saw Furiae look the camp over questionably. "Where is your dragon?"

He shrugged, unable to do much else. Furiae cocked her head. "Do you like her?"

Caim took a pause from the hunk of unidentifiable meat to stare incredulously at his sister. How could she even THINK that he could like an envy-ridden sadistic bat like that? Furiae giggled at his expression. "I thought not," she said softly. "I know you hold a grudge against dragons, Brother… But she's your pact-partner, right?"

_Unfortunately_, Caim thought venomously. A pang of irritation emitted from the dragon's mind; apparently, she could hear their conversation.

Furiae went on. "You should like your pact-partner, Caim. I mean, you share the same soul now. You share everything…" A strange, haunted look entered his sibling's eyes. Caim frowned. What was that shadow in his sister's eyes? However, before he could analyze it any further, the shadow escaped and was replaced by a happy smile. "It's so wonderful! To be able to get that close to a person is wonderful!"

A sigh escaped his lungs as he brought the slab back up to his mouth. In theorem, it would be nice. Then again, most wouldn't take into account that their fate would be tied to a damn dragon. And most wouldn't take into account his absolute loathing for the entire species, either. Despite Caim's grim, annoyed face, Furiae remained happy, mumbling to herself how wonderful it would be to have a pact with a unicorn or pegasus. He snorted as a picture of him riding either animal would result in that animal's death by a jealous dragon.

Leonard stood suddenly, a firm disposition in his face. "Arioch and I are going to look for some vegetables for later tonight. I hope you are able to defend your sister without our aid, Caim."

Caim glared in return as Arioch turned to the blind hermit. "We're going out?" the elf asked. After a moment, her eyes brightened with something other than happiness. "To a village? Will there be children?"

Leonard made no move to answer her as he began to walk away from the fire. He had acquired a long branch to prod the ground for obstacles during the night before. He began sweeping the ground with it, not waiting for Arioch to go to his side. She eventually caught up, whispering excitably to herself about children and the sweet taste that came with them. Caim cringed. He still didn't understand why Verdelet took her in…

He heard a loud boom on the other side of the camp. Turning, he saw that it was the dragon with a dead deer in her jaws, blood still pouring out of the poor animal. She tossed it almost playfully, where it landed with a sick thud a little ways away from her, and began to devour it quickly. Furiae gasped slightly, then quickly turned away from the grotesque spectacle. She dug her head into Caim's chest, whimpering softly. Frowning, Caim said, _Dragon, could you stuff your face full of meat someplace else? You're making Furiae sick._

The dragon lifted her head, which had strings of intestine and skin hanging out of her jaws. She swallowed, then replied, _"She can turn her head, can't she? If you and I are to be pact-partners, then she had better get used to a dragon being around. That means eating meat." _With that, she continued her gestation, leaving Caim with a terrified Furiae burrowed in his shoulder. He sighed heavily and pulled Furiae closer with his free arm. He thought that the dragon would at least get along with Furiae, but apparently…

Angelus studied the Goddess' emotions carefully as the Caim human pulled her closer. The dragoness wasn't too sure if she approved of the Goddess' unorthodox feelings toward her brother, but she wanted to know the exact level of love the cursed girl had for him. Perhaps she was simply over-exaggerating it. After all, from what she could tell, Caim probably raised her from lack of parents. It would only be natural to idolize the person who protected her from the Empire in the early years of her goddess-hood.

As soon as Angelus started listening, Furiae's emotions swept over her mind like a tidal wave of love and yearning. Angelus glared; it seemed her earlier assessment of the Goddess' feelings were correct. With the deer carcass still in her jaws, she clamped down angrily, snapping the body in two. The Goddess was in pure bliss being so close to her brother, and for some odd reason, that angered the dragoness. Her fury must have transcended through the psychic link, since the Caim human lifted his head and turned to her, a confused look upon his face. _And why are _you _angry? Didn't disgust my sister enough?_

Angelus growled. _"…Something to that extent."_

The Caim's face contorted into one of fury and loathing. _What is it that you have against her? She's done nothing against you. She's a prisoner of her own body and yet you go out of your way to scare and nauseate her! _Suddenly, his eyes widened and he looked down to the still frightened form of his sister, then back up to the dragoness. …_Are you… jealous of her…?_

Angelus threw what remained of the deer at her pact-partner, which landed in various locations around him. The head, which tore from the rest of the body, hit Furiae in the back, who screamed into the Caim's armored shoulder. _"Don't be preposterous, Human!" _she spat venomously with tongues of fire escaping her maw. _"Self-centered maggot. Not everything in the world revolves around you and I, fool! Jealousy is only in humans' minds, not dragons'! As for your sister, she's human, and that is enough reason to hate her."_

_Simply because she's human?_ the Caim asked as he stood and tossed the deer head away from his sister. _For such a "noble" dragon, you carry many prejudices. How ever do you manage it?_

Stalking toward the two, Angelus continued snarling. _"Quit your sarcasm, hypocrite. It's only humans I hate because they're the only race that is moronic enough to destroy itself from the inside. The only reason I'm caught in this irritating mess is because of humans and their lust for blood and _idiocy_!"_

The Caim stood tall against the infuriated dragoness, who was now mere feet away. He gently pushed the Goddess away from him, and she slowly went to the edge of the camp. The Caim took the few steps that were needed to close the gap between them, his steady glare never wavering. His right hand didn't leave the hilt of his bloodstained sword as he approached; which humored Angelus. What was he going to do with it, slay her? When he was inches away from her snout, his grip tightened, but the Goddess' voice rang out from the other side of the camp.

"Caim, don't!" she cried. The volume and ferocity in the frail woman's voice startled Angelus; all she ever heard out of the girl were whispers and murmurs. "Don't fight her!"

After a moment of hesitation in the Caim's face, it resolved and he let out a long sigh. He turned to leave, but not before tossing a last glare at the dragoness. _You're impossible, _he spat tiredly, returning to his spot at the fire with a heavy feel.

Angelus turned away and plopped down on the bloodied ground where the deer had been bled. She still didn't understand why the Goddess' bliss angered her so, but the fact was that it did and she needed to figure out how to get rid of the anger. If she kept it, the Goddess may end up like the black stallion. She snorted and lay her head down to rest. Humans just seemed to drain the life out of her like parasites. She glanced back to the Caim human; who saw her as well and promptly threw a charred stick at her, which landed thirty feet in front of her. She rolled her eyes and returned her attention to the landscape.

Damn humans…

…………

What? It's finished? What happened?

Well, it seems I have FINALLY finished this chapter. Since I started college, I probably turned my computer on a total of four times over the course of five months. No wonder this didn't get finished earlier.

Well, I did it. I OOC'd Angelus. Boo.

Next is the Inuart/Caim battle! Yay! I love that part. :D

Ja!


	14. Inuart's Mutiny

Well, your reviews of pleading me to keep writing have worked. :3 Though, be warned, since I haven't written in a while, the next few chapters -if I get that far- won't be up to the same caliber as the others, but hey, what the hell?

_**Shadow of a Soldier**_

_**Chapter 14**_

_**Inuart's Mutiny**_

The bright dawn from earlier was soon dulled and dimmed by an oncoming thunderstorm, turning the sky and morale of the group gray. The clouds above growled down at them, warning them of what was approaching. Caim, with nothing else to do, was sitting on a log, whetting his sword. The earlier argument between he and the dragon still stung at the back of his mind as he slowly sharpened his blade. The dragon had stayed near the edge of camp since the argument, not wanting to be associated with the small band of humans.

Caim sighed heavily and looked around the small camp. The tents had been hastily reinforced for the oncoming storm, and the more useless components of said group were sleeping or -in the hermit's and elf's cases- off gathering food. Furiae lay sleeping not far off, whimpering in her dreams. The sounds saddened him; nightmares plagued her since she first became the Goddess. Before he could go back to whetting his sword, the dragon's voice growled in his mind.

"_What now?"_ Caim growled back at her.

"_Quiet, Imbecile,"_ she snarled softly at him. _"Look up! That shadow... That smell..."_

Confused, Caim looked up as he was told and saw a black silhouette circling above them. He squinted his eyes against the harsh gray of the sky. Before he could try and make it out, the old man stumbled out of his tent and stared up at the sky as well. "Another dragon?" he asked in his withered, quivering voice.

The dragon circled lower and lower, and as it grew closer, the dragon's growls became more and more threatening. Caim tensed; the dragon's anxiety became his own, and he prepared his sword when the rider hopped down. However, when he saw said rider, his sword lowered and his mouth dropped a little. _Inuart...?_ Caim turned his head to look at the dragon; though she knew who Inuart was, she wouldn't stop growling. Why...?

Furiae had emerged from her tent by then, and when she saw her former fiancee, a large, exhausted smile broke out on her pale face. "Inuart!" she exclaimed happily. She took a couple of steps toward her former lover.

"With a dragon!" Verdelet exclaimed, seeming to be a little impressed. Caim was as well; he didn't think Inuart would have the gall to even approach a creature for a pact, much less a dragon. Though, Caim still couldn't shake that feeling of dread the dragon was emanating. There was something horribly wrong... "That means... you have made a pact."

Inuart ignored Verdelet and turned to Furiae. "Furiae... Come with me, there is nothing to fear. The world will be better now; you need not be he only sacrifice..." His hand extended, he took a few steps toward her and the dragon's growling grew louder.

It was then Caim realized what it was, that feeling of dread. Inuart's eyes held the same blood red irises as the Imperial rats he killed. That same inhuman evil that was shared with his damned black steed. Caim snarled as well and moved between Furiae and Inuart, blocking the latter's path. Furiae, a little startled, moved back a little.

Angelus knew she smelled the stink of a rat when she first caught their stench. She had slowly moved behind her human and the Goddess, glaring at the black dragon. The black dragon grinned cruelly at her, but said nothing. She kept her eye on the other dragon. _"He has been broken,"_ she warned the others in the group.

Inuart snarled at the dragon, then glowered at Caim. "I'm not weak anymore, Caim," he growled. "Why are you staring at me like that, I'm strong now!"

Caim could only watch Inuart carefully. He felt betrayed and mocked; his best friend through all of this time... Angelus felt the her partner's conflict, but growled. _"He's traded himself over to the enemy, Caim!" _she snarled. _"Don't become soft on him now!"_

Caim growled at his indecision. Inuart... The traitor snarled at Caim. "I've traded my songs for strength, Caim." He turned again toward Furiae, who had backed up a little more, unsure of what to do. "I can protect you now, Furiae..." His hand reached toward his love a little; she was so close... He so longed to hold her once more...

"_Don't let him near her!" _the dragon cried in Caim's mind. He swallowed hard and took another step to be between Inuart and Furiae, pointing his sword at his old friend, The traitor's snarl contorted; it now held the betrayal Caim felt.

"Don't give me that face, Caim," Inuart warned, his eyes narrowing. "I can see the scorn in your eyes! You would sacrifice your own sister in the service of revenge!" He swept his sword at Caim, but was too far away to hurt him.

Inuart pointed a gloved finger at the other. "We settle this today, right now!" he growled. "I have grown weary of always being in your shadow, Caim!" He nearly spat the other's name. "With this new power, I'll prove to you that I am as good-- NO! That I am BETTER than you are and could ever hope to be!" He turned and walked out of the camp to the open, barren field where his black dragon was waiting.

Caim took in a shakey breath and followed. Though he didn't want to hurt Inuart, he couldn't chance the traitor taking Furiae. Inuart might think he was saving Furiae, but his naiveté would only aid the Empire in capturing his sister. He silently followed Inuart out to the field and the dragon behind him, keeping her eye on the other dragon.

Inuart stopped a few yards away and turned to face Caim, his face contorting upward in a sinister smirk. He couldn't help a small, cocky chuckle as he stared down his old rival. This would be the day... The day that he finally out-shined Caim. The day when Furiae would be safe in his own protection, when she would finally look up at him with the same adoration and love that she gave Caim. That oblivious fool...!

Legna snarled and kept his eye on the red dragon. He could tell she had just changed and was not yet suited to her new form. This would be easy... He opened his maw and readied himself to launch into the air.

Caim watched his two adversaries and readied his sword. He had beaten Inurat plenty of times before in sparring, but... _"Do not let your guard down, Caim," _the dragon warned. _"These two are stronger than any other adversary we've come across. If you see an opening, do not let your pity get in the way. He needs to die."_ Caim took in one more deep breath as he heard his sister call his name, trying to stop him. The black dragon rose into the sky, his serpentine tail writhing behind him, the red dragon roared, and the battle was on.

Inuart ran at him, a greedy, warmongering expression written on his face. Caim frowned and braced himself for the impact, which when they clashed, sent pain shooting up both his arms. As their swords locked, Caim saw Inuart's blood red eyes glaring up at him, his sinister grin promising death. Caim was taken aback by the expression for a moment, and Inuart took advantage of it. With only a few more strokes, he had knocked Caim back and off his feet.

Inuart couldn't be happier, watching his former rival hit the dirt like he had so many times before. He watched, triumphant, as Caim silently groaned in pain on the ground. _"How does it feel, Caim,"_ he asked in the latter's mind, _"to finally be where you belong? How does it feel to be dethroned of your perfect status? How does it feel that I am the one who did it?"_

Angelus hadn't had time to get airborne, and took the black dragon's attack head on. His long finger-like talons drove themselves into her hide like butter and she couldn't help but a yelp. As she threw her head back to cry out in pain, he bit into her neck and gnawed at the tender flesh, enjoying her dying cries of pain.

Caim's back protested greatly as he slowly sat up, ignoring Inuart's jeers. He turned to where the dragon was fighting and his face paled at the horrific sight. Blood poured down the dragon's crimson and beige hide, and as if to further mock him, the black dragon stared at Caim, as if daring to try and stop him. Once they locked eyes, the general's inner eye flashed back to the horrible night the Empire lay siege to his old home.

His father...

His mother...

Those red eyes...

His back or any other injury no longer complained as he sat up, his rage swelling within him. That dragon... It was the dragon that had taken almost everything from him... The dragon that had killed his parents and forced him out of his old home. The dragon that had ruined almost everything he held dear... With his red dragon in his jaws, he felt the bloodlust rise not just because his and the red dragon's fates were linked, but because he couldn't lose another part of his life to that damn beast!

Forgetting Inuart entirely, he dashed toward the two interlocked dragons. Angelus cried out for him to stop, roaring to try and return his sense to him. _"You fool!" _she cried in his mind. She felt the black dragon chuckle, and as she shook her head for Caim to stop, he shoved her head down with his feet and launched himself back into the air. The black dragon took in a great gulp of air and tossed a fireball straight at Caim.

"_CAIM!"_

Caim didn't have time to react and before he could try to dodge the fire, a great crimson wing blocked his path, shielding him from the fire. He looked up in shock as the red dragon took the fireball to the back, letting out a bloodcurdling shriek of pain. _"DRAGON!" _Caim shouted. She whimpered and collapsed to the ground as her hide sizzled. Caim grunted as he was thrown off his feet again since the red dragon's wings knocked him down.

Inuart watched, pleased, as his dragon returned from where he had started. The black dragon let out a puff of smoke, letting his partner know that they were no longer a threat. With that savory information in mind, he couldn't help but swagger up to Furaie, who had backed behind Verdelet. He scoffed. If Caim and his "mighty" dragon couldn't stop him, what made this old fool with one foot already in the grave think he could?

As the old priest started reciting the old incantations, Inuart simply cut the man with one causal swipe of the sword. The ancient man grunted and fell to the ground, proving his uselessness yet again.

Furiae, with no one left to protect her, stared wide-eyed at Inuart, fearful of what the traitor might do to her. When he was only inches away -and for lack of another idea- she slapped him hard across the face. Inuart merely scoffed. What made her think she could act like that? He was her champion now, not Caim. He reached toward her face, that lovely, perfect face, and pulled her to his and locked her in a kiss. She fought against him and tried to pry herself away from him, but in vain.

Caim would have moaned if he could as he tried to pry himself off the ground. His vision was fuzzy as he searched for his sister. Had Inuart...? A sound to his left grabbed his attention and he saw Furiae faint into Inuart's arms. Caim tried to move, but his legs wouldn't obey. The dragon's pain and his own bombarded his mind and body. He lay there, helpless, as Inuart took his sister to the black dragon that stared coldly down at he and his dragon.

Once Inuart was mounted, he took in a deep breath, as if some sweet scent were flitting through the air. He surveyed his victory and smiled as he lulled, "Welcome to a world without song." He then tossed something in the air before patting the black dragon's hide.

Caim growled to himself as the bastard flew off with his sister and with great effort, pushed himself up. The stank of the red dragon's burned flesh choked his senses and made his eyes tear. He took a few staggering steps before Inuart's old harp harpooned itself into the craggy soil. Caim sighed to himself and turned to get some medical supplies when he heard a gasp. He turned to see Arioch and Leonard with budles of food and supplies.

Leonard sniffed the air and frowned at the stench of charred flesh. "...Did we miss something?"

* * *

Well, there it is in its hideous glory. That's what happens after two years of inactivity, folks. Still, I hope this is enough to get me going again. It felt nice to keep my computer on for more than updating my Zune.


	15. Licking Wounds

Well here we are again. Ya'll were patient and rode my ass enough to get me to write this. :) It's getting more difficult to write now, but I managed. Hopefully, I'm not too under the par.

_**Shadow of a Soldier**_

_**Chapter 15**_

_**Licking Wounds**_

Caim wanted to stab Leonard, the useless twit.

After Verdelet, who was lying on his deathbed where he belonged, informed the hermit and elf of what had happened, Leonard offered to go on scout with Arioch to see which way Inuart had fled with the Goddess. Caim wanted nothing more than to silence the man's stupidity forever. Even if Leonard and Arioch found anything -in that case, just Arioch, since the only useful organs on Leonard were taken by his annoying faery- what would they be able to do with the dragon injured and Verdelet unable to travel? Though Caim entertained the thought of simply leaving the old priest behind to die since he had no real further duty to the group, the hermit would object.

Thus why stabbing the moron was such a relieving thought.

The sky rumbled again above Caim and the others, reminding them of the oncoming storm. Caim frowned and growled silently to himself. Just what they needed. Rain to muck everything up even more.

Though Caim was sore from the battle, he wasn't too badly injured enough to keep from working to better prepare the camp for the storm. Leonard groaned near him as he worked. "How sorry I am to not have been here," the hermit woed to empty air ten feet to Caim's left. "Please, forgive me, Caim... I did not know that if I and Arioch had left, you would be overtaken so easily..."

Caim had to bite his lip from hurling something sharp at the man's head. However, being blind and stupid, Leonard was unaware of Caim's anger and continued. "Now that I have unwittingly abandoned you at your time of need, the Goddess has been taken and our only hope for defeating the Empire with her... Leonard, you blind fool...! If we lose this war, it will be on your shoulders..." He raised his head and stood, fist clenched with resolve. "Caim!" he shouted in the opposite direction in which Caim was standing, "I pledge to you to never be absent in your time of need! If I fail, please, give me whatever punishment you deem fit, even death, for it is because of my blundering I failed to assist you and the Goddess in your time of need! Caim! Do not forget this day for I..."

Caim was walking away by this point to prevent himself from killing the man, though the hermit continued to ramble on and on. Arioch watched Caim walk away, her ever- watching stare trying to slither its way into his soul... Though, if what the dragon thought were true, he didn't have one for her to slither into in the first place...

His steps slowed to almost a stop when he thought of the dragon... He turned to the spot where she had fallen, where she still lay, and slowly made his way to her.

The dragon hadn't moved too much since the battle; her hide was turning black and blistered and it was understandable that she didn't want to disturb it too much. His hate and rage rose whenever he looked at her or the wind carried the stench of her charred flesh to his nose. It was his fault she was hurt so...

He stopped walking toward her and plopped onto a nearby dead tree trunk that was lying on its side. It was his fault that Furiae was taken... His fault that his only friend had turned on them... The guilt, anger and frustration that Furiae was now in Inuart's hands and the dragon was temporarily crippled washed over him like a dark, grim wave. He hadn't been able to do much of anything against Inuart... Did this mean his struggle against the Empire was futile as well?

Angelus opened an amber eye as she felt her human start to drown in his own doubt and despair. She lifted her head a bit and sighed. _"...Caim... Come here,"_ she said almost gently.

Somewhat surprised by her rare tone, Caim made his way to her, unsure of what she wanted. When he got near her, she put her head back down, but kept her open eye on him. _"...There's no need to sulk about, Caim," _she admonished quietly. Her voice lacked the normal sting it would have held were it a normal situation. _"You and I are both still alive. The Goddess... Inuart's love is still in that contorted, warped mind of his somewhere, which gives us time to get her back. We cannot falter now because of one lost battle. Understand?"_

Caim stared at the dragon, only able to blink in confusion. Was she... trying to cheer him up? She had all of the ammunition to fire at him and she would rather give him a pep talk? When he didn't answer, the dragon rolled her eyes and growled. _"I know it's difficult for a simple, pessimistic imbecile like you to look past the grave, but do try so I don't have to watch you mope your way through this war. Now, do something useful and get the damn hermit to concoct a salve for my wounds, would you? If we're going to die, I'd rather do it sooner than later."_

Caim could only give the dragon a grimace and turned to go back to the hermit, who was still talking. Unfortunately, Caim couldn't tell Leonard on his own that he needed to stop babbling and to start making a salve, so he would have to rely on someone else... Though he really didn't wish to have to speak to the old man, trying to communicate with Arioch was more reserved for a last resort, since anything he may try might entice her to attempt to eat him again. So, to the old man it was. He picked up a large bowl for the salve and went into Verdelet's tent.

The old man was lying on the makeshift hay bed they had fashioned for him the night before since his "tired, old bones couldn't rest on the unforgiving earth anymore". His staff, some medical supplies, and pieces of parchment lay in a corner of the tent, and a small oil lamp was lit far to the side to prevent a fire. At the sound of Caim coming in, he took a raspy breath and turned to face the other. "...Ah, Caim... I did not expect you to visit..."

_'I am not here for you, old corpse,' _Caim grumbled to himself. _'If I could make the damn stuff myself I would.' _He went closer and was about to show Verdelet the bowl when the old man turned his head to face the roof again and moaned. "Oh, Caim, when did I become so fragile? I remember when I would be able to create a shield powerful enough to hold off a hundred foes before any of them could draw their swords... Now look at me... I am a withered old fool, unable to even give my life for my duty..."

_'Yes, I know that, but look at the damn bowl so you can figure out what I need,' _Caim thought angrily and awkwardly shoved the bowl at Verdelet, who weakly pushed it back. "No, thank you Caim... I do not need water... Leonard has already given me a bowl."

Caim let out a frustrated sigh and tried again, but was a little startled by the sudden wail the old man gave out. "Oh! It is not only the pain of my terrible wound, but of my heart as well... When Inuart turned his sword on me, I felt no compassion or mercy. Not even fear. No, only anger filled my heart. What right do I have to preach to others now?"

_'You never had any right, but for the love of all that is holy, look at the damn bowl you mangy old fool!' _Caim growled in his mind, shoving the bowl back into Verdelet's face, who, again, pushed it away. "No, Caim," he said weakly as tears came to his eyes. "I'm afraid that won't help me now... I fear that the gods may come to take me tonight... Please, fetch Leonard for me... He is the only one who can help me now..." Though Caim tried again to get Verdelet to understand him, all he received in response was that, though Caim was kind to think of him, he could only be helped by Leonard.

When Caim got out of the tent, he threw the bowl down on the craggy soil, which of course, broke the fragile pottery. Staring angrily down at the broken pieces, he heard a lofty giggle to his right, where Arioch was sitting. "Poor mute man... No one can hear you..." she mused quietly with a sweet, strange smile. "But maybe... Just maybe I can hear you, if we're both quiet enough..." she said as she almost drifted near him, her feet slowly, daintily carrying her closer. She leaned in close, then closer to him to where she was nearly pressed up against him, her strange, beautiful eyes searching his own, her delicate fingers slowly meandering over his cracked and bloodied armor. Simply too stunned to really do anything else, he stood there as she entranced him into stillness. "Ah..." she said sweetly, "...You need a cure for your pet... I'll go and tell the blind man... if you'll let me have another taste..." She leaned up to him, her soft lips brushing against his jaw and neck. "I haven't been able to have anything sweet for a good while..."

There was a low growl behind them that shook him out of his reverie and he pushed Arioch away from him. _"You'll have to stick with deer, elf," _the dragon snarled, flames threatening to burn any who angered her. _"He will never be your next meal. Find some wandering brat to snack on."_

Arioch chuckled, her gaze lingering on Caim for a moment. "Oh... Are there children around here...? I do hope so... They're so sweet..." She began to lightly wander when some thought occurred to her and turned back to the still stunned Caim. "Oh... Your pet... If she's in such need for a cure, then why doesn't she ask herself? She's a grown girl... right?" She turned back to wander off almost dancing, Undine and Salamander following her warily as two orbs.

Angelus scoffed, letting a low growl rumble through her chest. She'd rather the elf gotten left behind... She glared to Caim, who was still standing frozen where the elf had left him. _"If you're quite done being dumbstruck like the primitive ape you are..."_ she scoffed, which made him flinch and look up at her. He seemed about to say something when another thought struck him, the elf's words finally sinking in.

"_...Wait... Why DIDN'T you ask on your own? You know trying to communicate with Leonard is useless in all sense of the word, Verdelet's withered skin has collapsed into his skull and Arioch is just demented!"_

Angelus shrugged. It hadn't really occurred to her why. _"It doesn't matter, does it? Though, I do have to admit, your conversation with the old priest was rather amusing."_

Caim snarled at the dragon, his frustration getting the better of him. _"...I know it's a little difficult to realize but I'm not here for your amusement."_

"_No,"_ the dragon replied with a narrowed gaze, _"I think you've established that your purpose in life is to try and murder the both of us. You proved it yet again today."_

Caim flinched and balled his fists, trying to keep his anger within himself. He knew it was no use to get angry at the dragon... _"...Like you had everything handled on your end? The battle wasn't two minutes in and that black monster already had you bleeding!"_

The remark obviously stung as the dragon raised her lip at Caim, her growl soft but threatening. _"You weren't so successful either. Who was it that was knocked down after four sword clashes, MIGHTY general?"_

"_It's still better than getting caught with a few rows of teeth to the neck!" _Caim countered.

"_Inuart was merely toying with you," _the dragon growled back, her pride still stinging. _"If he truly wanted to kill you right then, he would have struck the many opportunities he had to end it then! Did you not see the glee in his eyes? Did you not feel it? He wanted you to wallow in misery before he killed you."_

"_So is that why the Imperial beast caught you so quickly? You seemed to have paid such rapt attention to detail for my battle, what about your own?"_ Caim snarled, taking a step forward. _"Maybe if you had deigned to pay attention to your own enemy instead of watching over me like a damn mother hen, you wouldn't be looking like a feast centerfold. The only missing thing is the apple in your mouth!"_

"_I received this wound from protecting YOU, Human!" _the dragon roared back, her mental voice booming as loud as her actual bellow. For a moment, Caim retreated a little, the anger catching him off guard. _"Don't you DARE preach to me on how I lost that battle. You blindly and stupidly ran into it, making yourself wide open for attack. What did you plan on doing to him, stab his toe?"_

Though the dragon had a very good point, Caim bit his lip, his anger at himself, not the dragon, welling up again. _"What was I supposed to do, watch him rip your throat out? I couldn't let him kill you!"_

"_So you offer up yourself as an exchange?" _the dragon snapped back, her fangs still bared. _"You would still kill me by doing that, fool!"_

"_I wasn't trying to get the beast to kill me, I was trying to help you, you damn bat!"_

"_You still haven't answered how you would," _the dragon growled loudly. _"You fighting that dragon would have ended with us dying and the Empire winning!"_

Caim threw his hands up and stormed off to his tent. _"It's like arguing with a damn WALL, fighting with you!"_ He shouted back at her, still stomping off.

"_At least a wall is not so fragile as to fall to a few sword clashes," _the dragon growled back in Caim's mind, which made him punch the nearest thing to him: Leonard's faery, which sent it flying and crashed into the ground, where he lay unconscious.

* * *

The sound of thunder woke Caim from his light sleep; he had taken a small nap in his tent after the spat with the dragon. His armor off and mind still smouldering over the argument, he ventured out to find the sky dark and angry with the storm overhead, but it only looked like a few hours had gone by during his sleep. He sighed. Typical. He never could find much refuge in sleep.

As he stood outside, he felt small droplets of water speckle themselves on his head and shoulders. He took in a deep, calming breath, taking in the rain's scent. Though sleep never comforted him, rain was a little more successful at it... It reminded him of times when the world wasn't so empty and dark, and when there truly was light and hope...

A rumble to his left caught his attention, where he saw the dragon still lying. Verdelet's water bowl was next to her with strange white goo dripping off of the lid. She seemed to be asleep. He heaved another sigh and made his way to her; he may as well try and get her recovered as soon as possible... After all, there wasn't any way he was winning this war without her.

He got to her side and cupped some of the salve in his hands and made a face. Disgusting. It smelled like carrion. Maybe it was made with the leftovers of the children Arioch ate...

He started to gently spread the salve over a part of the burn he was closest to, which made the skin flinch an the dragon wake. She watched him for a moment before asking, _"...What are you doing?"_

Caim didn't turn to her, just continued to spread the salve. _"...Curing you. What does it look like?" _he replied quietly.

Angelus sighed, befuddled. Humans were so strange... Though, she did have to admit, that reeking salve did wonders for her burn... She wanted to say something more, but found no words and simply lay her head back down and allowed the Caim human to spread the salve for her. However, the sky finally wasn't able to hold its fury back anymore and poured out its sweet rage, drenching the two.

Angelus closed her eyes as the rain soaked her burning flesh, calming the heat along with the salve. She watched as the Caim human frowned up at the sky, miffed that it had stolen his job. Angelus carefully lifted her wing high enough to where he could slip under it. _"...Get in or else you'll catch something that will delay us further," _she said calmly. He didn't seem in the spirits to argue -which she was silently grateful for- and did as he was told, taking the bowl of salve with him to keep it from overflowing. She curled her head to where her muzzle was now in the small gap he had used, allowing her to look directly at him. He gave her a face and said, _"...Well, what now?"_

Though Caim couldn't see it, Angelus shrugged her shoulders as much as her injury would permit. _"...Wait out the rain, I suppose. Unless you have some greater idea."_

Caim made a face and looked to where her side was and, as he thought of something to pass the grueling hours before him, gently petted her hide. Angelus did not expect the warmth his absent-minded strokes gave her; it made her feel at ease and... tranquil. She closed her eyes as a content rumble went throughout her chest and throat. She had not felt that soothed in... well, she couldn't even remember.

Caim looked up at the noise, his reverie broken. He watched the dragon, quite confused, his hand stalling for a bit. _"...Something... the matter?"_ he asked carefully.

Angelus opened an amber eye halfway, suddenly not having the energy to open it completely. _"...It seems you've given yourself a new use..."_ She curled her body tighter, her head consequently going further beneath her wing until Caim nearly was forced to lean on it. Now trapped by her wing, head and neck, he could only make himself comfortable against her, though he had to change the area he was petting to the soft part of her hide behind her eye. The next thing he knew, she was sound asleep.

He wasn't sure what to think of the dragon; the day had been strange, awful and confusing. Though, he couldn't deny the fact that he was glad she had been there during that battle. Not just because of the dragon, but... well, he didn't know why yet. He sighed and closed his eyes as well. He would still rather have that stallion with them still as a second option...

And as the rain raged overhead, her warmth, the cool scent and sound of rain quickly lulled him to sleep as well, safe within the haven of the dragon.

His dragon...

Well, I do have to admit that kinda blew. They were OOC, and the ending sucked. But I wanted to get this chapter out as soon as I could, so there you have it.

Thanks to all you guys who keep me writing. You're all awesome.


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